Many are familiar with MUnGa – the Melbourne University Greek Association – through its sold-out social events.
But two weeks ago, the student club made a welcome comeback to one its other core activities.
“MUnGA had run a series of lectures in previous years, and we wanted to start them again for both university students and the broader public to access,” President Christina Savopoulos told Neos Kosmos.
“Greek dance is quite popular in Melbourne with lots of different groups and we knew that our first lecture would have to be on Greek dance styles.”
Local folk dancer and musician George Kiriakidis was approached to lead the seminar titled ‘Dance Your Heritage: A Cultural Connection Through Greek Folk Dance’. It was held on an August evening at the University’s Old Arts Building.
The result was a fun educational night with a vibrant crowd.
“We had about 40 people attending, which was more than I expected,” Kiriakidis said.
“And the kids seemed very receptive and engaged throughout the whole thing.”
While practicing the dances was not part of the schedule, attendees had a rare opportunity to learn the basic dance customs of every region in Greece.
“Kiriakidis has so much knowledge on Greek dance history, it was a pleasure to attend his lecture,” Savopoulos said.
“He led us through all parts of Greece, sharing the different dances that belong to those regions along with their music styles and costumes.”
Beyond history and geography, the lecture covered some elements of symbolism represented in dances, up to more recent examples including the Zorba misnomer.
‘Dance your Heritage’ was the first of MUnGA’s lectures for 2024, and it gave the club the boost to brainstorm for further seminar ideas.
“We had a great attendance and hope to run more lectures like this in the future on specialised topics about different parts of Greek culture.”
To stay tuned with MUnGA’s future events, follow them on socials.
Facebook: MelbourneUniversityGreekAssociation
Instagram: @munga.official
