In 2024, through your support our dream became a reality, when Australia’s Largest Greek Dance School completed its most successful project to date:
The completely self-funded DESTINATION PATRIDA, 2024 Greece Tour, which was officially endorsed under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Greece), by the office of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy Mr. Yiannis Chrysoulakis, by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the office of the Australian Ambassador to Greece, Ms. Alison Duncan, and was further recognised by the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios.
In addition, the tour was recognised by a multitude of Ministers from Federal, State and Local Government and Opposition, as well as representatives of the many prominent cultural organisations throughout our community.
In recognition of our contribution to the preservation and dissemination of our cultural identity throughout the diaspora,
UNESCO, through its Council of International Dance (CID) formally inducted our dance school as an official member at a ceremony during its
61st World Congress of Dance Research, hosted at the famed epicentre of Greek Dance- the Dora Stratou Dance Theatre in Athens.
To date, we remain the only Greek dance cultural organisation to have received such recognition, nation wide.
An enormous project, in which 15 of our dancers spent an entire month travelling across mainland Greece, and presenting a total of 36 performances at some of the most significant locations and Performing Arts festivals of Greece. From mid-June to mid-July, the team explored their ancestral homeland, and spent an entire month travelling, performing, and experiencing all that Greece had to offer, through a completely bespoke and unique cultural, spiritual, physical, and psychological multifaceted programme, years in the making.
Wherever they travelled and whoever they visited, this incredible cohort of young Greek-Australians were the formal representatives of everything that ‘we are’, and everything we have accomplished as Greeks on the opposite side of our planet; the next link in a chain of endless cultural heritage and ancestry, which has been preserved and transmitted to yet another generation, albeit 15,000km away from our πατρίδα! (homeland).
Representing the Greek-Australian community, their presence left such an impression abroad that interest in Australian values through our cultural presence have since increased exponentially, and invitations to return have been extended!
DESTINATION PATRIDA, 2026 …the next chapter
Through June – July of 2026 together with a new team, we anticipate our next international tour, to deepen, strengthen, and further develop the relationships that this initiative created.
Since our announcement and subsequent campaign launch in September, the entire project has already created headlines through the Greek-Australian community, and through media, arts, and cultural circles in Greece.
IN A NUTSHELL:
The Plan
From mid-June to mid-July 2026, a cohort of professional-level dancers from our school will be travelling to Greece;
They will be performing at the famed epicentre of Greek dance- the Dora Stratou Theatre in Athens, for a full concert spectacular in partnership with some of Greece’s leading dance troupes;
In recognition of our contribution to the preservation and dissemination of our cultural identity throughout the diaspora, UNESCO’s Council of International Dance will again be formally awarding our dance school, and inducting our Tour participants as official members at a ceremony during its Annual World Congress, hosted in Athens- July, 2026;
The crew will also be travelling to the cities and villages in and around Athens, Thessaloniki, Chalkidiki, Florina, Larissa, Trikala, Karditsa, and participating in some of the biggest annual cultural and multicultural exhibitions/festivals which host dance groups from across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and America! Additional locations are planned, including Peloponnese, Crete and other Greek islands however we’re still awaiting confirmation from those hosts as to specific dates, and whether our funds will permit;
Our school will again be producing a one-off, completely custom-made and printed dance Tour Uniform for all participants, carrying emblems of offices which have endorsed our project, and logos of all financial contributors, as an acknowledgement of the support we receive;
We will be conducting and participating in dance workshops, seminars, and performing on-air and in-studio at TV stations of channels which have been long-time supporters of our dance school’s contributions through the diaspora;
There’s also going to be some downtime in between, and the crew will have the opportunity to enjoy some of Greece’s archaeological sites, tourist hotspots, mainland beaches and event the nightlife! …but rest-assured we will be working them to the bone, and they’ll be getting absolutely thrashed! …and they’ll love it! (we’re famous for our method!)
The Funds
As a private dance school, we are not eligible for government/community grants. To date, we have never received such, and everything we have accomplished is owed to the completely limited support of generous individuals and businesses within the private sector.
The ‘total cost’ of our project funding, aims to cover:
- return economy-class airfares;
- additional luggage for our costumes, (a set of 5 costumes per participant, representative of various regions of Greece, to pair with our specific dance routines);
- flags (including Greek, Australian, Indigenous-Australian flags, and our Tour Insignia), and other props;
- accommodation;
- food/drink …and frappe! ;
- travel insurance, and additional insurance related to dance, costume asset and other performance-related cover;
- laundry/dry-cleaning services for the maintenance of our costumes due to the daily/nightly performances;
- transport via a designated driver and coach bus for entire duration of tour;
- design and manufacture of custom uniform set for participants to wear during formal engagements, rehearsals and presentation ceremonies, featuring emblems of offices which have endorsed our project, and logos of all financial contributors, as an acknowledgement of the support we receive;
- many other miscellaneous costs.
Participants are personally investing their own funds, as their individual contribution for the project.
A significant portion will be generated from a specific savings account our dance school has been contributing towards over the past decade from fundraising initiatives, profits generated from our concerts, dinner dances, raffle draws and other events;
The remainder of this portion will be reliant on the generosity of individuals and businesses who
- share our vision, and
- wish to become benefactors for this project.
The challenge is equally daunting as it is exciting.
There is much, much work to do. And through it all, we’ll be reaching out to anyone and everyone who may be able to assist in providing the support we’ll need.
We believe in the work we do, and we believe that our dance school’s contribution to the cultural landscape in Australia and abroad, is immeasurable. We also believe in the community which we have served uninterruptedly for almost 5 decades.
We can’t do it alone, nor do we want to.
We anticipate that this project will again be one of the biggest statements of communal unity that we have ever made, and we would be humbled to have your support in making it happen!
