Many Greek Australian parents wonder how they can get their children to find a nice Greek boy or girl to marry.
Vas Aligiannis is the director of Greek Folk Dancers Association of NSW, he says Greek dancing classes are one answer.

“Plenty of love stories have happened here, and they end up getting married, and then we dance at their wedding,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

Recently a group of Mr Aligiannis’ dancers performed at the wedding of Nick and Ellory, who met learning the Hasapiko at Mr Aligiannis’ school in Sydney. “It’s kind of the purpose of the thing,” he says.

“Not only to teach people the traditions and dances, but also to meet other people from the same culture,.”
The Greek Folk Dancers Association of NSW teaches around 150 people, between the ages of three and 68.

And this week, they’re holding a variety of parties to celebrate another successful year of kicking up their heels.
The main party is on Thursday, when all members are invited to attend the Manhattan Superbowl.

Mr Aligiannis says there will be dinner followed by bowling, where prizes will be given out for the best Greek dancing-style bowling moves.
“You’re going to have to show some Greek dancing in your bowling technique,” he says.

Mr Aligiannis says the party season won’t be followed by a long summer, though, as the Folk Dancers will continue to prepare for upcoming events.
They’ll be travelling to Adelaide in January for the Pontian gathering, then dancing at the Hornsby Greek Festival in Sydney in February, before heading to Brisbane for the Glendi in May.

Mr Aligiannis says he’s also trying to attract sponsorship for an international trip in June. “We’re looking at taking a group to Greece for some dancing workshops,” he says.
Mr Aligiannis himself travels to Greece regularly to build on his knowledge of traditional Greek dances and to add to his extensive costume collection.

It’s this variety – Mr Aligiannis says he knows over 1 000 traditional dances – that keeps his younger members coming back.

And he says there’s plenty of reason for adults to sign up too. “It’s appealing to the adults, because not only do they get good exercise, but it’s about social networking,” he says.
To RSVP for the Christmas party, SMS Vas on 0407 081 875.