The Cretan Association of Sydney and NSW held dance workshops on Wednesday, February 15 and Thursday, February 16 with dance instructors Sifi Viglakis and Eleftheria Manioudakis from Crete.
Viglakis is the President and head dance instructor of the Viglatores Dance Academy in Hania, Crete and he has travelled to Australia with Manioudakis on a national tour under the auspices of the Cretan Federation of Australia and New Zealand, with the financial support of the Region of Crete.
There were two workshops – one for the Cretan Association’s three dancing groups on Wednesday, and one for the general public on Thursday. All the workshops were held at the Pontian House in Earlwood and had huge turnouts.
Students were able to ask questions, learn new techniques and also learn about the origins and history of their favourite Cretan dances.
Following the dance workshops on Wednesday, a celebratory dinner was held at the Cretan House in Marrickville where the dance teachers were presented with commemorative plaques to thank them for their time in Sydney.
Viglakis and Manioudakis expressed how proud they are that there are such strong Cretan communities in the diaspora, far away from Crete and are excited for the remainder of their tour.
Their tour commenced with Wellington, New Zealand, and after Sydney they will travel to Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin.
