ATLANTA HOSTS 5TH ANNUAL HELLENIC DANCE FESTIVAL WEEKEND

Atlanta played host to an historic Hellenic Dance Festival (HDF) from February 25 – 27, 2005. Over 650 dancers from throughout the Atlanta Metropolis and beyond competed in six categories, culminating in an exciting final round of Adult competition on Sunday. With the entry of two dance troupes from Virginia, this marked the first time that HDF received competition entries from outside of the Metropolis. In addition, this was the first HDF to include a choral competition, which brought out some of the most beautiful voices in the Metropolis.

Highlights from the weekend include a wonderful evening of traditional Greek dancing with authentic music by Ziyia and other visiting musicians. Participants enjoyed meaningful spiritual workshops prior to the start of competition on Saturday morning. Sunday’s awards luncheon was capped off with the announcement of the first-ever Odyssey to Greece Scholarship winners. The Metropolis is sponsoring 5 directors and 25 dancers for this fantastic opportunity to perform and study traditional dance in Greece.

HDF Executive Committee Chairman Gerry Clonaris would like to thank Host Parish Chairpersons Kiki Papadimitriou and Sandy Papadopoulos as well as the entire Host Committee of Atlanta for their outstanding job planning the weekend. It was truly a phenomenal event, filled with fellowship and thrilling competition.

Next year’s site will be announced in the next few days. For more information regarding this outstanding program, please contact our HDF Chairman, Mr. Gerry Clonaris at 704 846-5247

Following are the list of winners from HDF 2005:

Junior Division:
1st – Tarpon Springs, FL
2nd – Troupe Palikaria, Greenville, SC
3rd – Romiosini, Wilmington, NC

Advanced Junior:
1st – Greenville, SC
2nd – Levendia, Charlotte, NC
3rd – Winston-Salem, NC

Intermediate:
1st – Ellinopoula, Newport News, VA
2nd –Romiosini, Wilmington, NC
3rd – Kefi, Birmingham, AL

Senior:
1st- Levendia, Tarpon Springs, FL
2nd- Hellas Dance Troupe, Charleston, SC
3rd- Eleftheria, Marietta, GA

Advanced Senior:
1st- Syrtaki, Boca Raton, FL
2nd- Asteria, Atlanta, GA
3rd- Troupe Adelphia, Greenville, SC

Adult:
1st – Troupe Hellas, Atlanta, GA
2nd – Levendia, Tarpon Springs, FL
3rd – Enosis, Newport News, VA

Costume Awards:
Junior Division – Patmos Dancers, Tallahassee, FL
Senior Division – Hellas Dance Troupe, Charleston, SC

Choral Competition:
1st – Romiosini, Wilmington, NC
2nd – One Voice, Marietta, GA
3rd – Greenville Choral Group, Greenville, SC

Metropolitan Alexios “Spirit of Brotherly Love” Award: (voted by all participants and presented to the parish that demonstrates best the principals of Orthodoxy)
Annunciation Cathedral, Atlanta, GA and Holy Mother of God Church, Tallahassee, FL

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Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta
2480 Clairmont Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30329

Phone: 404-634-9345
Fax: 404-634-2471
Website: atlanta.goarch.org
Email: kpowers@atlmetropolis.org

Proistamenos: His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios
Email: patras@atlmetropolis.org