Hellenic Dance
About
This ministry is where Faith, Folklore, Fellowship and Fun collide. The Hellenic Dance Ministry’s goal is to teach the religious, historical and cultural significance of Greek Folk Dances in the Marietta Community. We learn how our Orthodox faith has shaped our Hellenic Culture and vise-versa. We teach the customs and traditions of each region of Greece as well as the religious celebrations through Greek folk dance. We educate our youth on the significance of the traditional Greek folk dressing and strive to preserve a collection of authentic Greek costumes. We teach the authentic steps of folk dances and use these dances in combinations for the more modern and contemporary dance show pieces. We teach the spirit of stewardship to our children, as they learn not only to give their time and talent to their parish here in Marietta, but to other parishes in our region and the outside community at large. We create a Christian wholesome environment and team atmosphere for our youth to come together in fellowship.
Our dancers begin in Pre-K at age 3, and our young adults are still dancing in their early 30’s. A total of 7 dance groups perform for functions at our parish, such as the Marietta Greek Festival. We also have a group of dancers called the “Travel Troupe” from grades 6-12 that perform at cultural events in the local community and various events in the nearby cities. Our dancers have performed in the following cities for their Greek Festivals: Anderson SC, Asheville NC, Augusta GA, Chattanooga TN, Cumming GA, Macon GA, and Peachtree City GA. We have also performed at the Atlanta Serbian Festival, Cobb County International Festival, Woodstock International Festival, Perry International Festival, and numerous other events. Our dancers in grades 3-12 can also participate in the Metropolis of Atlanta’s Hellenic Dance Festival (HDF) program, a Greek folk dance competition focused on preservation of the authentic form of Greek Folk dance in a Christian worship and fellowship and a manner of friendly competition. Our Marietta dance groups have won the following awards: 2000 – Gold for high school group, 2005 – Bronze for high School group, 2006 – Bronze for middle school group, 2011 – Bronze for high school group, 2015 – Bronze for young adult group, 2017 – Bronze for middle school group, 2018 – Costume Award for middle school group, 2019 – Bronze and Costume Award for Elementary school group, 2022 – Bronze for middle and high school combined group, 2023 – Silver, Costume Award, and Folk Expression Award for high school and middle school combined group.
Participate
Marietta Greek Festival dance groups practice most Sundays beginning in February 1st, 2206 through mid-May and concluding at the Marietta Greek Festival the third weekend of May.
Dance groups are organized and practice on Sunday as follows:
Pitsirikia (Pre-K) will meet in room 125 with Ms. Niki Catsulis at 12:30-1:00. Please make sure your little one has gone to the bathroom before heading to class.
Palamakia (Kindergarten and 1st grade) will meet in room 127 with Ms. Christy Macris at 12:30-1:00. Please make sure your little one has gone to the bathroom before heading to class.
Asteria (2nd and 3rd grades) will meet in room 128 with Ms. Tina Johansen and Mr. Niko Tiller at 12:30-1:15.
Petaloudes (4th and 5th grades) will meet in room 130 with Mr Gabriel Mavromatides at 12:30-1:15
Phoenix (6th-8th grades) will meet in the gym with Ms. Karen Fox and Mr. George Saad at 12:30-2:30
Eleftheria (9th-12th grades) will meet in the gym with Ms. Paulina Vastakis and Mr. Jimmy Smith at 1:00-3:00
REGISTRATION FOR HELLENIC DANCE:
If you haven’t registered yet, no problem! Please follow the following three steps in order to make sure you are registered:
(1) First, your family or the individual dancer has to be a steward of the parish. Please complete a stewardship form for this year if you haven’t done so yet with our online 2026 Membership/Stewardship Form.
(2) Second, please register your youth for our youth programs (including dance) with our online 2025-26 Youth Ministries Registration.
(3) Third, please also confirm with our dance team that you intend to participate and have completed the above two steps. You can email us at: hellenicdance@holytransfiguration.info.
You’re also welcome to show up at dance practice to register but will be asked to make sure you complete the above steps as well. For more information, contact Hellenic Dance Director Paulina Vastakis at hellenicdance@holytransfiguration.info. Thank you!
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Travel Troupe and Hellenic Dance Festival
Travel Troupe for grades 6-12 practice from mid-August through mid-November every Sunday from 12:30-1:30 and perform various weekends during this window of time.
Hellenic Dance Festival (HDF) for grades 3-12 practice from Mid-September through mid-January every Sunday from 1:30-2:30, with the competition concluding the HDF season during the MLK Holiday Weekend in mid-January.
Practices for HDF will be on Sundays 12:30-2:30 starting on September 7th. Next practice is on October 5th.