Anoixi Greek Dance Weekend

03/20/2026

Join us on Saturday night in the Queen City for the 2026 Anoixi Glendi 🎶🇬🇷🦋💚

03/18/2026

Registration is OPEN! Head to our website to save your spot for Anoixi Weekend 2026 💚 We can’t wait to dance with you! https://www.anoixiweekend.com/registration

03/14/2026

💚Introducing the second Anoixi 2026 instructor, Apostolos! He will be teaching dances from the island of Kimolos in the Kyklades.

Apostolos Konstantinos Takis is a Greek dance educator, cultural director, producer, and researcher of Greek folk tradition with nearly three decades of artistic and educational leadership. Born in Agia Triada, Karditsa, within the living cultural environment of the Karagkounides, he developed an early connection with music, ritual, and dance that later evolved into academic study and long-term research. He studied Pedagogy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and completed postgraduate studies in Folklore and Dance Studies, focusing on ritual practice, collective memory, and regional expressive culture.

In 1997 he founded VACCHAE – Dancing Art Association, which today counts nearly 30 years of continuous cultural presence and around 250 active members of all ages. Under his artistic direction, the organization has developed into a dynamic cultural institution featuring daily rehearsals, educational programs, live music collaborations, and major stage productions. VACCHAE has also played an important role in community cultural life in Athens through initiatives such as the “Harokopia” Municipal Traditional Dance Festival and numerous public performances and collaborations with the Municipality of Kallithea.

Takis has presented major musical-theatrical productions, organized international dance masterclasses, and contributed to global cultural exchange through teaching, festivals, and judging at events such as the Folk Dance Festival in the United States. In 2004 he led a VACCHAE group in the Closing Ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games while also contributing traditional costumes to the production. Through his work as both an educator and cultural leader, he continues to bridge scholarship, artistic creation, and community engagement, actively supporting the preservation and contemporary expression of Greek traditional dance worldwide.

03/13/2026

💚Introducing the first of two Anoixi 2026 instructors, Christo! He will be teaching dances from the villages of Pogoni in Epirus.

Christos Papakostas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Primary Education at the University of Ioannina, specializing in Folklore and Greek Traditional Dance. From 2014 to 2021, he served as an Assistant Professor on the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Science of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where he taught Greek Traditional Dance.

He studied at the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science at Democritus University of Thrace, where he specialized in Greek Traditional Dance. In addition to his academic career, he has worked as a professional dance teacher with various dance groups and at seminars across Europe, the U.S., and Canada. He has taught traditional percussion at the Music Schools of Drama, Karditsa, and Trikala. Christos has served as a judge at the Metropolis of Atlanta’s Hellenic Dance Festival and the Metropolis of San Francisco’s Folk Dance Festival.

Papakostas received his PhD from the Department of History, Archaeology, and Social Anthropology at the University of Thessaly. He has taught courses in anthropology, folklore, and the anthropology of dance and music at several Greek universities, including the University of Thessaly, the University of Ioannina, the University of Western Greece, the Hellenic Open University, and the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus.

His research focuses on dance anthropology, music, folklore, and cultural identity. He co-edited Ethnochoreographies (with Rena Loutzaki, 2022, Disigma Publications) and Dancing Cultures: Globalization, Tourism and Identity in the Anthropology of Dance (with Nikos Poulakis, 2019).

03/02/2026

Anoixi 2026 💚 SAVE THE DATE 🎉

04/26/2025

🟢🟢🟢 TONIGHT 🟢🟢🟢

🟢 ANOIXI GREEK NIGHT 🟢

04/25/2025

https://youtube.com/?si=8kwg7utvDrsq0a2N

Join us live or virtually for our next HDForum on Friday, April 25 at 7PM EST as we kick off Anoixi Weekend with a special presentation from Stergios Vakoulis and Nikos Bariamis, live from Charlotte!

Stick around for a live Q&A with both presenters, followed by an exciting update and Q&A with the HDF Executive Committee about our upcoming 25th Anniversary celebration!

Have a question you’d like to ask? Email us at [email protected].

Livestream starts at 7PM EST on the Hellenic Dance Festival YouTube Channel. You don’t want to miss it!

04/22/2025

Friday 7pm!! Join us in person at Holy Trinity Charlotte or on Zoom 💻

ANOIXI weekend will kick off with an Friday, April 25th with a presentation and lively discussion.

Stergios Vakoulis will be presenting “Kythira as a Cultural Crossroads: Influences from the North, South, East, and West,” and Nikos Bariamis will discuss some of the shared music of the Peloponnese and Kythira!

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A about HDF with members of the HDF Executive Committee.

Join us in the Queen City at Holy Trinity Cathedral. Doors open at 6:30pm and the HDForum begins at 7pm💚

04/17/2025

2 DAYS LEFT for early registration price‼️

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https://www.anoixiweekend.com/registration

04/09/2025

Join us on Saturday night in the Queen City for the 2025 Anoixi Glendi 🎶🇬🇷🦋💚

04/04/2025

2025 Anoixi Glendi with music by ENDASI 😍🎶💚

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04/02/2025

🟢 ANOIXI GREEK NIGHT 🟢