THE DANCE GROUP
Paradosi HDC Ltd. was formed in January of 2003 by Dora Zafiropoulos, Debbie Kaspiris, Stasi Veloudos and Ted Paraskevopoulos. The four dance instructors sent an invitation to their best and most passionate dancers from their other groups to sit in on an information meeting and from there, practices started every Sunday. Paradosi currently has around 35 dancers and is continually looking for more through auditions. So what is it about Paradosi that makes it different from any other Greek dance group in Toronto? Well, for one thing, it is a dance company that is not supported by any other community group or church like most other dance groups are. This fact allows the group freedom to grow and build themselves like no other group can, but it also produces much controversy. It is a known fact that as soon as a group does something different than others, certain people will always disagree with what they are doing. Although this is true for Paradosi, there are many more people who are willing to help with the success of it and are interested in what the group is doing culturally, for the Greek communities in Toronto, Canada and throughout the world! As stated in their website, the primary goal of Paradosi HDC is to maintain Greek culture through the medium of dance, music and song. The group practices for two hours every week and sometimes has four hour practices if a performance is coming up. Each dance is studied and perfected step by step in order to maintain a traditional style for each of the regions. Although many other Greek dance groups claim to be "authentic", many times they are actually learning steps that have been changed or modified through time and fail to do back-up research on these dances. It is obvious that the instructors only teach authentic styles since they seem to have an unlimited knowledge on not only intricate footwork details but also proper handholds and body positions. Through observation, it can be seen that Paradosi presents itself as one of the most authentic Greek dance groups in Toronto and even North America and brings the memory, identity and territory of Greece right here to Toronto. The enthusiasm, energy and pride that both the dancers and instructors have for their dances are so clear that even non-greeks can feel the group's power.
Interview with Instructors	See the Performance	Back to Main