The Hellenic Lyceum of Sydney celebrated the Feast of Panagia Ypapanti with a family dinner on Saturday, February 4 at the Mytilenian House in the Sydney suburb of Canterbury.
Over 400 guests, including the Consul General of Greece in Sydney Ioannis Mallikourtis and many Greek community presidents and representatives, fitted comfortably into the Mytilenian House on the night.
The dinner dance kicked off with an exhilarating display of Greek folk dancing by the Hellenic Lyceum Dancers under instruction of Dimitri and Stavroula Papapetrou, and dressed in authentic costumes.
The dancers performed to the music of Michael Platyrrahos’ eight-piece band with their traditional organs and to the vocals of Olga Kremisis.
President of the Hellenic Lyceum of Sydney, Liana Vertzayias, said in her speech that the organisation was turning the clock back to the decades when the Saturday night dance was the social focal point of the community and attracted all members of the family – grandparents, parents and children.
Mrs Vertzayias also announced a donation of $1,000 from the Pan-Messenian Association to be used for the purchase of a new costume. AHEPA NSW is also paying the cost of new male and female Pontian costumes.
The Lyceum succeeded in presenting an inter-generational interaction as it was the young people who made up a sizeable number of the attendees and kept dancing until closing time.
