Theodora is a well known Greek dance instructor and dancer throughout Canada, U.S.A and Greece. She has participated in several workshops and conferences on dance, music, song, costumes and pedagogy.
Theodora has been affiliated with many Hellenic organizations in Toronto since her youth as a dancer and later as instructor. Her love, aptitude and passion for the Greek culture have taken the groups she has led to another level of knowledge and expertise. Over the last twenty years she has taught numerous dance groups of which include.
The Greek Community of Metropolitan Toronto "Dionysos", Pan-Kalavritinon Assoc., The Metamorphosis Greek Dance Group, All Saints Greek Orthodox Church "Hellas Dancers", Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Dance Group and the Pan Messinian Dance Group. She has also been actively involved with Klironomia Hellenic Folklore in Canada and recently took on the position of Assistant Director.
Currently, her research has been centered on authentic village traditional costumes and jewelry. Theodora's specialty is focused on the authenticity and purest form of Greek dance from all regions of Greece. Thracian, Asia Minor and Island dances are her main areas of study.
†Fr. Theodore has been involved with Greek dance for most of his life. He has attended many seminars and workshops on dance including receiving instruction in Athens, Crete, and Thessalonica. He began his teaching career at the St. Nicholas Greek Heritage School where he taught children from kindergarten to grade nine. After his tenure at St. Nicholas, he spent time as an independent instructor, pursuing his personal research into Greek dance while at the same time assisting fellow instructors as a guest instructor and performing in various dance troupes.
Since 2003 he has been exclusively involved with Paradosi HDC and has worked alongside his other three colleagues to make Paradosi a unique place where serious dancers can learn authentic Greek Dance.
Having completed his Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Theology, On December 2, 2006, Theodore was ordained to the Holy Diaconate of the Greek Orthodox Church and on March 29, 2008 he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood. He currently serves the community of Prophet Elias in Mississauga where he participates in youth work, dance programs and hospital ministry. He is currently serving in Winnipeg.
Despina has established herself as an accomplished dance instructor in Canada, the United States of America, and Greece. She has been involved in Greek dance from a young age. She believes that Greek dance is a passionate and emotional form of expression. She is a firm advocate of authenticity and simplicity.
Despina has been both a dancer and instructor within the Greek Community of Toronto. She has taught the dance groups of the Nafpakto Association, Trifilion Association, Palio Panagia Association, All Saint’s Greek Orthodox Church (adults), and the Pan-Macedonian Association of Ontario. She has attended numerous dance conferences, seminars and workshops on Greek dance, tradition, and culture such as the Theatre of Dora Stratou, Aristoteli Dance Ensemble in Florina, Seminars with Kyriakos Moisidis, Klironomia Hellenic Folklore in Canada, Winter Dance Conference, and World Folklore and International Dance. For the past few years, Despina has sat on the board of directors for the Klironomia Hellenic Folklore in Canada Dance Conferences.
Despina has worked diligently alongside the other co-founders/instructors of Paradosi Hellenic Dance Company instructing in their community groups. Her repertoire has led ensembles to competitive victories. Despina’s teaching style is complimented by her professional career as a child development specialist. Her strong suit is researching authentic and rare traditional Greek music. She is educated on all the regions of Greece, but her main area of expertise is Macedonia and Pontos.
Anastasia Veloudos was born April 16th, 1977, in Scarborough, Ontario. Her Hellenic heritage comes from Moires, Irakleion in Crete, and Batsi, Andros in the Cyclades. Since September 2000, she has been and is currently the Director of the Dance Program at St. Panteleimon, Anna & Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church in Markham, Ontario. She was also the Dance Instructor for the Greek Dance Program at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church for two years alongside Theodora Zafiropoulos (Metaxas), as well as the Dance Instructor for the St. Nicholas Greek Heritage School for one year. Anastasia currently sits on the Board of Directors of Klironomia Hellenic Folklore of Canada Dance Conference and has been since 2002. As a dancer, she had spent 13 years dancing with the Cretan Association of Toronto 'Knossos' and was one of the original members of the Pancretan Federation of Canada Committee.
Under the jurisdiction of the Toronto and York Region School Boards, she has taught Dance and Theatre Workshops and Summer School Programs for children for various Elementary and High Schools, not only introducing Hellenic Dance to children of other cultures, but also exploring movement through Dance and Theatre. Anastasia attended York University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree Program specializing in Dance and Theatre, with her main focus in Theatre Studies. In February 2005, she was the Stage Manager and Director for the Dance Showcase Mia Nyxta Stin Paradosi (A Night of Tradition) featuring Paradosi HDC and the G.K. Fotiadis Dance and Theatre Ensemble from Thessaloniki, Greece. In the Spring of 2007, she was the Stage Manager for the Tri-City Canadian Tour Production Enthymion which played in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal and featured Paradosi HDC (Toronto), the Odyssey Dance Troupe (Ottawa), and La Troupe Folklorique Grecque Syrtaki (Montreal).
Having attended many workshops, primarily under the direction of Kyriakos Moisidis from Thessaloniki, Greece, Anastasia’s interests in Dance extends to understanding the role of Traditional Dance both as a communal and performance dance form while in keeping with the balance between, but by also exploring, the roles of choreography, staging, posture and polish in relevance with authenticity.
