Over 250 students in traditional costume of the Manasis School of Greek Dance and Culture gathered for an ambitious dance production to commemorate Greek Independence Day last month which was captured on video and recently released online.
The filmed production entitled Afieroma. took place over six hours on the fields of the Malvern City Football Club (MCFC) on 26 March, the school’s director, Dimosthenis Manasis told Neos Kosmos.
The event followed a similar format to last year’s production Recital, which was also filmed and shared online because COVID restrictions did not allow for the traditional commemorations at The Shrine of Remembrance.
Students took part in a large ceremonial parade and then performed traditional dances that they had learnt during the term.
“In true ‘Manasis style’, the combination of over 30 flags (representing the various regions which gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire), together with an exact replica of the famous ‘Iero Lavaro Tis Epanastasis’ from the Agia Lavra Monastery in Kalavryta was a sight to behold,” said Mr Manasis.
“Every student was dressed from head to toe in full traditional costumes, with a very special focus on the ‘national’ attire – the ‘Foustanella’, ‘Tsolias’, and in the case of Manasis, the famous Gianitsaroi and Boulles of Naousa.”
The filming of the event, which included aerial shots by using a drone, was carried out by Kosta Pinirou of Joe Sparrow Media, the school’s official videographer who produced and edited the Afieroma video.
Mr Manasis thanked long-time sponsor MCFC and the City of Stonnington for granting access to the ground to carry out the production of Afieroma.
“Our sincere gratitude is extended to James Ballas (President), Leo Sideras (Treasurer), and the MCFC committee, who assisted with facility supervision and access throughout the recording process, and provided a safe and secure environment for our dance school to conduct such a large-scale production.”
Mr Manasis said that along with the hundreds of costumes from the school’s own collection he was grateful for the support shown by a number of clubs, organisations and individuals within the wider community who made available traditional costumes for the event.
These included -KARAISKAKIS Karditsa Association of Melbourne and Victoria – Stathis Kassos, Thomas Goulas; Hellenic Community of Moorabbin – Trifon Giantsidis, Giannis Mantas; Greek Orthodox Community of Gippsland (Morwell) – Soulla Kanellopoulos; Institute of Hellenic Dance and Culture (NSW) – Vasilios Aligiannis; Konstantinos Kalymnios; Vicki Katis family; Nick and Stella Karamitsos and family; Nikos Plakidas; Christina Tzamallas; Olga and Giorgos Svolou.
“Whilst much of the music we use for our dance performances are centuries-old traditional folk songs, our closing piece- the AFIEROMA itself, is an original composition by good friend Zoi Tiganouria who granted us permission for its use in this production.
“We applaud the efforts of all community organisations, language schools and dance groups who (in the absence of community events) have managed to diversify and conduct their own tributes and events to commemorate the most important day- the ‘birth’ of the Modern Greek State.”
