Kyklos Hellenic Society Present A Greek Odyssey

A Greek Odyssey - A Celebration of Life Through Dance

Troy, MI - The KYKLOS Hellenic Society is announcing its fundraiser event on October 21, 2006, "A Greek Odyssey-A Celebration of Life Through Dance." The event will feature a sit-down dinner, at the St. Nicholas Cultural Center, 760 W. Wattles, Troy, MI, a 50-minute cultural program to include a diverse selection of Greek folk dances, songs and music, and four hours of open Greek dancing for guests to enjoy. The group will show case a varied collection of Greek folk dance costumes from the islands and mainland of Greece during its performance.

"Our desire is to expose today's generation of Greek-Americans here in Detroit to the diversity within our own culture and expose them to dances, songs and history and most importantly to build an infrastructure to pass our knowledge to our children," says Joh Peppers, President and director of KYKLOS. "Not only will we have one of our local Greek bands, the The Levendes, playing for the evening, we will also be bringing two musicians, Beth Bahia Cohen, Violin, and Panayiotis League, Laouto, from Boston to play traditional folk instruments for our performance and for our guests. It will be a lively evening of dancing and fellowship."

The KYKLOS Hellenic Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, educating and preserving Greek heritage and culture through music, song and dance. The organization was incorporated in March of 2006 and has grown to 30 active members who travel from all over the Detroit metropolitan area and as far as Saginaw, Owosso, Ann Arbor and Lansing to participate.

The word, "kyklos" in Greek means circle, which is a formation evident in many Greek dances. The circle has many symbolic references, and for the members of KYKLOS Hellenic Society, it represents a family. By participating in Greek dance, one joins a family and celebrates life.

In January of 2006, members of the group flew to Tarpon Springs, Florida to participate in the 100th anniversary of the Epiphany celebration held there annually. The weekend also provided the opportunity to continue to learn about Greek dance and culture by participating in the Winter Dance Conference; a conference bringing together dozens of dance groups from all over the United State and Canada for the sole purpose of learning and sharing their knowledge of Greek folk dance and music.

On January 28, 2006, KYKLOS participated in "Nations in Rhythm Detroit" a multi-cultural performance at the Detroit Opera House. The performance was an officially sponsored event by the National Football League in celebration of the Super bowl. "This was a unique opportunity to share our heritage with others and build lasting friendships with members of other cultures," Said Peppes.

KYKLOS rehearses twice a month and performs at Greek festivals, fundraisers, dinner dances, international festivals and other multi-cultural events throughout the Metropolitan Detroit area. It is funded through individual donations and will also seek funding through cultural grants.

For more information, visit www.kykloshs.org.

Contact Information:

John Peppes
President and Director
586-295-1980
kyklosdancers@kyklosdancers.com

Promotion Chair:
Peggy Collias
586-945-5246
peggy@kyklosdancers.com

KYKLOS Hellenic Society
P.O. Box 1494
Troy, MI 48099-1494

Malista!