Poros hasapiko dance returns to Pounta! This winter in Pounta, the neighborhood of fishermen, taverns and Poros hasapiko dance, will be full of music and dance. From October, Katheti, in collaboration with George Klirodotakos, will be offering Poros hasapiko and folk dances lessons. At the same time, we will have the opportunity to learn to dance hasaposerviko and zeibekiko. We invite you all to the first introductory meeting that will take place on Monday October the 9^th at 6:00 pm at Katheti. Classes begin on Monday, October the 16^th at 6:00 pm and will be held every Monday from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The cost is 15 euros/month for Katheti’s members, people under 18 and the unemployed, and 20 euros/month for the general public. Learning how to dance local dances helps preserve our tradition and at the same time offer us an enjoyable way to socialize and have fun. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Going back in time, George tells us how hasapiko and hasaposerviko evolved on Poros. “In the 50s, fishermen from Koulouri (Salamina) would go out after fishing to eat at the taverns of Pounta. Apart from being good at fishing, the fishermen from Koulouri were also excellent dancers in the “antikristo” and “aptaliko” zeibekiko, as well as in hasaposerviko. The music of the gramophone filled every part of Pounta, where visitors and locals would gather at the taverns to eat, listen to music and dance.”  George learned his first dance moves from Stavros Kormos and then started dancing with him. “In the 60s and 70s, people from Poros gradually added their own dancing figures to the hasapiko, such as ‘in-out’, ‘sourto’ (dragging), ‘Pireas’ (Piraeus), ‘koutso’ (hopscotch), ‘Koulouri’. This is how the Poros hasapiko was born.”

Katheti loves and supports music and the arts, through activities like the Synthesis & Anasynthesis music workshop and the choir workshop, which led to a concert with the songs from “Παραμύθι χωρίς όνομα” (Fairy Tale with no name). At the same time, wanting to highlight our history, tradition and local people, we have previously held the collective painting exhibition “Bridges” and the theater documentation of Poros and Troizinia-Methana workshop, which led to the successful theatrical play “Passage”.

George Klirodotakos’s bio

Dancing is George’s great love. He has been dancing traditional Greek dances professionally since he was 24 and through dancing he has travelled the world, made friends, met important people and collaborated with them. He has participated in theater plays, TV series and Greek films, most notably the 1968 film “Επιχείρηση Απόλλων” (Operation Apollo), with Elena Nathanail and Thomas Fritz, directed by George Skalenakis, and the 2006 television series “Της Αγάπης Μαχαιριά” (Love Stab), directed by Stratos Makridis. Recently, George presented his own painting exhibition named “From Poros to Cornwall” at Katheti.

We thank George, who offers the dance lessons voluntarily, with the only purpose of keeping the Poros hasapiko alive, continuing this beautiful dancing tradition of our island.

Information

Introductory meeting: 9 October 2023 at 6:00 pm

Lessons commencing: 16 October 2023 at 6:00 pm

Location: Katheti

Day and time of lessons: Every Monday and Thursday, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Cost: 20 euros/month (15 euros/month for members of Katheti, persons under 18 and unemployed)

Information/Enrollment: info@katheti.gr, +302298043825

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