Vasilios Aligiannis has an extensive and impressive resume within the Greek folk dance community. He is the founder and lead instructor of the Hellenic Lyceum Sydney. Below are excerpts from his remarkable CV. "My lifelong passion for Greek folk dance has led me on a remarkable journey of exploration and discovery throughout Greece. With over twenty five visits to this captivating country, I have immersed myself in its diverse regions, delving into the rich tapestry of its folk dance traditions. Through a meticulous blend of research and firsthand experience, my methodology encompasses a multi ..read more

Vasiliki Malamatos is the director of Epanastasi Dance Troupe at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Worth, Texas; and the founder & director of Rizes HDF. Epanastasi is a young-adult competitive dance troupe that she started back in January of 2024 and is an official ministry of the St. Demetrios parish in Fort Worth, Texas. Epanastasi will be hosting Rizes HDF on January 25: a parish level event encouraging dance groups within the Denver Metropolis & beyond to attend for a first ever HDF event in the area.  Vasiliki grew up on the East Coast & has been dancing all of ..read more

Eleni Koubi is a Greek fashion designer who founded her own brand in 2021. The philosophy behind the clothes is that the garment a person wears is not only meant to meet their physical needs and to highlight their beauty, but is an expression of their personality and cultural identity.  The brand is promoting sustainability through garments that are not mass produced but instead a few pieces are launched in each collection that are created ethically and made mostly from natural materials, such as cotton, wool or silk, in order to minimize waste. Greek folk tradition and the Greek elements ..read more

Michelle is a member of the Greek American Folklore Society based in Astoria, Queens. Michelle was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Athens, with roots in Volos, then moved to San Diego at the age of eight. She proudly both Greek and Filipina but for the purposes of this podcast will focus on the Greek American experience. After moving to the US she found community in the St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church and first FDF was in Anaheim 1997 (?) and continued dancing while in grad school with the St Sophia GOC in Los Angeles. When she moved to New York she joined GAFS and is always seeking to build ..read more

Haralambos (Harry) Koutroumanis was born and raised in Tampa, FL, and moved to Charlotte, NC, in 2023 after graduating from the University of Florida in Gainesville with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Finance. His folk dance research primarily focuses on the island of Crete. Harry gained interest in Greek folk music and dance through the Cretan Sillogo of Clearwater in 2017, and also began dancing with the Hellas Dancers of Holy Trinity Clearwater. Despite having no Cretan origin, he fell in love with the sound and style of Crete. He attended his first HDF in 2018 with Hellas Dancers, and ..read more

Charlie Kleto was born in Charlotte NC and is now living in Miami FL working as a physical therapist. He began dancing in Charlotte when he was in kindergarten and competed in his first HDF in 7th grade. Charlie began directing in 2011 and took his first group to compete at HDF 2012. While directing for Holy Trinity in Charlotte, he was also competing with Thrylos in the advanced senior category. Over 6 years ago Charlie moved to Miami for graduate school and very soon began directing the high school group at St George in Hollywood FL. 4 years ago, Charlie created Filiki Etaireia, the adult da ..read more

Jersey born and SoFla raised, Chloe started folk dancing at the age of 15 with the Kamaria Dance Troupe at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL under the direction of Stephanie Balaskas and later, Emmy Louvaris, and competed at her first HDF Competition in 2007 in Clearwater, Fl. She continued on to direct her first festival group during her undergraduate years at Florida State University at the Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church in Tallahassee, FL.  In 2013, Chloe moved to Charlotte, NC where she joined the Thrylos Dance Troupe under the direction of Sarantos K ..read more

Michael is a native of Knoxville, TN, a self-taught luthier and a lover of Crete. Join us as we chat about his experience and learn how he got to know and love Crete and its culture! You can find Michael on Instagram @mchambers_00 Episode music: The Anemos Music Project ..read more

We are thrilled to kick off season 7 of the Syrtos podcast with Charissa Gianos from Denver, CO! Thank you Charissa for your patience as we navigate a new recording set up for season 7! Don't miss the Kefi at Mile High Dance Workshop and Glendi, September 20-22, in Denver, CO! Also, be sure to listen to the entire episode to learn about some of the amazing CDs Charissa has recorded. Charissa Gianos is the Director of the Denver Dynamis Hellenic competition dance group, and Vice Chair of the Hellenic Dance Academy, a.k.a. HDA, a ministry established at the Assumption of the Theotokos Cathedral ..read more

Niko, born and raised in the Kansas City area, his mom is an immigrant from Greece, and has always made Greek culture important to Niko and his sister. Niko plays Cretan lyra, and bouzouki. He works as a paramedic and firefighter. Episode music: The Anemos Music Project ..read more