This amazing tap dance version of Miki Theodorakis' Zorba the Greek was performed at Toronto's Annual Dancefest in 2004... we loved it and thought we would share it with you all!
We don't know any more details, but by looking at those glittery Greek Galanolefki flags being worn so proudly by the young dancers on their bodices, we can only guess that this was a Greek Tap Dancing Team's entry in the festival in the lead up to the Athens Olympics...
If anyone knows anything more please email us and we will update gladly!
Stavroula Logothettis is a Greek Canadian journalist and actress who came 'home' along with the Olympics in 2004. You may remember her as the 'perfect' older sister Athena in fellow Greek Canadian Nia Vardalos' big film hit ' My Big Fat Greek Wedding'!
Stavroula came back to Greece after being asked to do a series about Greece in the run-up to Athens' historic Games by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The entire Games experience was a life-changing one for Stavroula (as it was for most of the people who were involved) and it made her want to come back to live in the land of her birth.
All went well for a while, she even managed to get a great spot on ERT 's Satellite Programme for Greeks Abroad, ERT World. Today she is unemployed, one of the ever increasing number of victims of Greece's economic crisis but is optimistic, as many of us are, that the economic crisis will serve as a new starting point and provide the reasons for the many changes which need to be made in Greece.
Stavroula has put together a great video on many of the positive movements that have sprung up, like a phoenix from the ashes of this crisis; voluntary groups like SWAP or the Atenistas , a non-political group that takes action to improve Athens.
The Atenistas, incidentally, have managed to change a lot in their relatively short life... like cleaning up some derelict lots in central Athens and turning them into parks, cleaning up the beach at Neo Faliro, 'taking back' Omonia Square for the people of Athens to enjoy;an Omonia Square, which, along with all the surrounding streets has been criminally neglected and been allowed to sink into the quagmire of drug use , drug dealing and prostitution, becoming a battle ground between the various illegal immigrant groups that have taken up 'shop' in the area, instead of the once vibrant, buzzing central square it once was!
Source: Atenistas
Stavroula's video, called Made in Greece, is bright, upbeat and informative and looks at the positive aspects of the financial crisis...
Thanks Stavroula! Thoroughly enjoyed it! :)
Source: www.protagon.gr - Thanks to Marianna K for referring it!
A rock bouzouki-playing Greek Canadian civil servant with a PhD in statistics who is a star in China – you can't get more incongruous than that. But then again there is nothing ordinary about George Sapounidis and his band Ouzo Power.
George Sapounidis (vocals, guitar, bouzouki) is a two-time Olympic Torch Bearer (Beijing 2008, Athens 2004) and a Montrealer of Pontic Greek descent who has been called a poster boy for Canadian multiculturalism. He is a polyglot who performs fluently in Greek and in other languages. He plays a handmade electrified 8-string Greek bouzouki in dramatic and captivating fashion. On stage he is entertaining and engaging while explaining elements and context of the music.
George originally founded Ouzo Power in 1988 with his partner at the time Gaston Bernard (Matapat), giving a new spin to Greek music, translating the songs of Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley into Greek for audiences at folk and multicultural music festivals across Canada and appearing on CBC radio and television.
In 2005 he was the subject of the award-winning CTV / BBC international television documentary Chairman George, and has been known as Chairman George ever since!
His CD release George from Athens to Beijing was nominated in the Best World Music category at the 2005 Canadian Folk Music Awards. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematical statistics from the University of Toronto.
George Sapounidis (which in Greek means ‘soap-maker’) is a direct descendent of Greeks living in Asia Minor for generations near the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea in Turkey, and are commonly referred to as Pontian Greeks. In 1922 as a result of the ‘Mikrasiatiki Catastrophe’ these Greeks were forced to leave their homes and became refugees in Greece and other countries of the diaspora. George’s grand-parents settled in Canada, first in Edmonton and then in Montreal.
Summers spent in Greece when he was a teenager laid the foundation for what would become a lifelong personal and musical odyssey. He remembers Greece as “an incredible world”. “It was a fundamental formative place because of the nomadic artistic lifestyle,” he says. “It was a community of expatriate international artists – poets, musicians, writers and painters. I was steeped in this multicultural tea. It laid the ground work for my musical breadth.”
In 2008 George was the only Canadian selected by the Beijing Olympic Committee to run as Olympic relay torch-bearer in Beijing on August 8 the same day as the Summer Games’ Opening Ceremonies.
He was also an Olympic relay torch-bearer when the torch arrived in Montreal in 2004. And he spent the 2004 Athens Olympics in the Olympic Village as a National Olympic Committee Assistant capitalizing on his Greek and Chinese language skills to assist the Chinese team as well as smuggling his bouzouki into the Village to perform for the international residents including athletes, volunteers and media.
During his teens he studied classical guitar with the Spanish virtuoso Jose Luis Rodrigo, and in Athens with Gerasimos Miliaresis who was a student of Andres Segovia. In the 1970’s he toured Greece with Greek multicultural singer Eugenia Siriotis, and in the 1990’s studied bouzouki with Costas Apostolakis in Toronto.
Ouzo Power (Canada) is an experienced ethno-cultural band performing and interpreting classic Greek Rembetika and popular bouzouki repertoire in a rock format. The show features George Sapounidis on lead vocals in Greek combined with the sound of the infectious Greek bouzouki backed by, since 2005, a stellar cast of seasoned musicians including Fred Guignion (electric guitars, lap steel) , Stuart Watkins (electric bass, backing vocals), and Ross Murray, (drums, percussion).
The music is a compelling fusion of George’s traditional roots presentation of powered Greek bouzouki and vocals combined with the gritty but tasteful and creative colorings of Guignion’s electric guitar and lap steel sounds backed by the rock solid bass and drums of Watkins and Murray.
The presented repertoire consists of strong melodies, vocal harmonies and different time signatures allowing dance performance for the Kalamatiano, Zembekiko, Tsifteteli, Syrtaki and Hasaposerviko.
Listen to Ouzo Power's great version of Gorgona...it's excellent!
In May 2007 the members of Ouzo Power performed together at one of China's biggest international festivals, the Meet in Beijing International Arts Festival and in October 2006 they appeared at Beijing's award-winning rock music venue Yugong Yishan, at the Nanning International Folk Song Arts Festival in Guangxi Province, and in Shenzhen, Canton Province.
As we said above, George was one of our very talented and valuable Athens 2004 Greeks Abroad Volunteers from our Greek Communities around the world ( we had 4500) and a great asset as NOC Assistant for the Chinese Olympic Team. To him, and to the other fantastic volunteers, we at Global Greek World, say Thanks a million!
Xronia Polla kai Kala, George! Hope you are having a lovely birthday, wherever in the world you are!
This weekend the Global Greek World celebrates Toronto's favourite street festival - the Taste of the Danforth!
Every year in August, the city of Toronto flocks to GreekTown on the Danforth, to celebrate the fun and flavours of Greece and summer in the city.
Now in its 16th year, the Taste of the Danforth is Canada's largest street festival, welcoming approximately 1.3 million visitors, and a Decima Research poll indicated that 90% of respondents identified "The Taste" as their favourite Greater Toronto Area (GTA) festival event!
This year, GreekTown's Taste of the Danforth, is sponsored by Pilaros , a leading importer of Mediterranean food products, primarily olives and olive oil, what the ancient Greeks refer to as "The Essence of Life".
One of Toronto's signature events, The Taste of the Danforth showcases the best of Hellenic food, culture, and music that this very multicultural city has to offer - from souvlaki to mezes, authentic Greek music to interactive children's games, including an Olympiada which offers fun-themed activities for the young such as a Mount Olympus Climbing Wall and a host of mini Olympic-style activities!
Go to GreekTown this weekend and enjoy the culture that makes the Danforth a year round destination.
If you are not already Greek you too can be Greek for the day!!
Photo Credit : M.M. Marce
GreekTown
GreekTown on the Danforth is the largest Hellenic business community in North America and indeed is the third largest in the world after Greece and Melbourne, Australia.
In the early 1970's, Canada welcomed thousands of Greek citizens. Many members of the community flocked to the Danforth. As a tribute to the numbers of Hellenic citizens who lived and worked in the area, the Business Improvement Area voted to change the name to GreekTown on the Danforth in 1993.
Located roughly between Chester and Jones Ave on Danforth Ave., 450 businesses are situated in this area and each contributes financially to the promotion and beautification of the community.
In 1994, GreekTown launched the Taste of the Danforth creating the largest Greek festival in the world outside of Greece.
Hours: Friday August 7 6pm - 11.00 pm Saturday August 8 Noon - 11.00 pm Sunday August 9 Noon - 8.00 pm
