Last Saturday audiences at the Royalty Theatre took a journey from the Adelaide CBD back to Greece and further beyond its modern borders to lands once enriched in Greek culture.
The Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia (GOCSA) Dance Academy presented Ellinon Homata ‘Greeks’ Soil’ to a sold out crowd, who gathered at the theatre to watch over 70 dancers and 15 local and interstate musicians.
The performances honoured and celebrated Hellenic regions including Pontus, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Cappadocia, Eastern Rumelia, Constantinople and Epirus.
It was said to be an emotional and incredible evening, with Hellas Lucas of the academy telling Neos Kosmos they had an overly positive reception.
“We had very positive feedback from all the audience. We had over 500 people there, it was a sell out,” she said.
“It was a great performance; the costumes looked fantastic, very colourful, and the dancers executed their dances really well. The timing was perfect, the musicians were great, and the audience really loved it.”
Some of the standout performances came from the male dancers, including the Tsestos, originating from Thraki, which entails them catching each other from the belt.
The Cyprus Community of South Australia and the Pontian Brotherhood of South Australia were also featured, with the latter having a standout dance, says Lucas.
The Pitsiak or ‘Maheria’ dance, sees two men ‘fight’ with knives in rhythm.
Alongside the acts, there were also videos and historical photos depicting the pain of war and uprooting experienced by the thousands of Greeks during that era.
This was said to be powerful and emotional for some people, with some failing to hold back tears, remembering their time fleeing as refugees.
“All of a sudden I went back into my 20s again by watching and living this performance,” one guest said.
“There were a lot of teary eyes around where I was sitting.”
Overall Ellinon Homata was an overwhelming success, the academy’s first show since 2021 due to COVID, and was the ultimate tribute to the once Hellenic regions.