Young dancers in step with their Greek heritage

The dance costumes they wear are authentic to a range of Greek history and regions. But the youths and young adults wearing them are decidedly modern and American.

Some are, or have been, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts. They compete on basketball, baseball, soccer and football teams. They’re in band. Some of the high school and college students hold part-time jobs while pursuing studies.

But no matter their other interests and commitments, they make time to keep their Greek ancestry alive and share their culture with the greater community. The dancers, in full costume, were among the contingent from Modesto’s Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation that appeared before the City Council on Tuesday evening. The parishioners were congratulated and presented a resolution recognizing the 50th annual Greek Food Festival coming up next weekend.

After receiving the honor and in turn presenting the council with a tray of baklava, members of the group gave a brief dancing demonstration in the downstairs level of Tenth Street Place. The youths talked about their dance participation – which in pretty much every account came with little or no arm twisting by parents and church elders.

Fourteen-year-old Beyer High freshman Matthew Myrtakis, who’s Greek on his father’s side, began dancing when he was 6. He said he really looks forward to dance practice – sometimes 90 minutes of it – right after church on Sundays.

And he loves the travel that comes with his group’s annual participation in the Greek Folk Dance Festival, which typically is held in Anaheim but also has been in San Jose, Arizona and elsewhere. It draws groups from near (Fresno, Stockton, San Francisco, Oakland) and far (Arizona, Utah, Washington).

That social element has been a big part of the appeal for Myrtakis. “When I was younger, they (his parents) sometimes would tell me I had to go to practice, but as I grew older and met new people through it, I developed a love for it.”

Myrtakis’ cousin, Demitri Stamos, 12 and a student at Roosevelt Junior High, also began Greek dancing eight years ago. Also Greek on his father’s side, he comes from a line of dancers.

For at least 50 years, dancing has been a family tradition. His grandparents were dancers in the original Modesto Greek Food Festival and his father and uncle both have danced. His grandmother also was director of the church’s dance program for 20 years. “They wanted me to dance, so I did,” Stamos said. “It’s fun and it keeps me from sitting home on Sundays. It makes me want to go to church.”

That’s one of the rules: To be in the dance program, you have to attend church.

That suits Stamatula Kakridas’ parents well. The family of the 15-year-old Enochs High sophomore moved to Modesto from San Jose 10 years ago because they wanted to raise their children in a Greek church, she said.

She joined the dance group right away and said she enjoys sharing her Greek culture with the community. “When do you get to see kids wearing authentic Greek costumes in downtown Modesto?”

Still, Kakridas said, she’s only human – and a teen at that. “I want to keep the culture alive,” she said, “but there are times when I want to stay in bed, too.”

Getting involved in church and activities such as folk dancing is one of the “biggest ties to its culture a family coming here to the U.S.” can create, said 25-year-old Chryssa Volakakis, a first-generation American. “It’s building our foundation again.”

Volakakis said she went almost immediately from walking to dancing. “As a toddler, they put me in costume,” she said. “I’ve been doing the festival since I was in kindergarten.”

Her father is a musician, dancer and singer, she said, and her mother made most of the dance costumes she’s worn.

“I have some very close friends I started introducing to my culture through dance, food and music,” Volakakis said. “I call them Greek by Association. ... This is what I know, what I love, and I invite everyone to come out and share in it.”

Dance is just one – though perhaps the most visible – of the ways the Greek church’s youth have helped keep the food festival, and their culture in general, going strong.

Fifty years ago, it never was a given that the Greek Food Festival would continue and thrive this long, said Dr. Steve Grillos, who’s been among the organizers from the start. “A lot of parishes don’t have them,” he said, noting that it’s never been hard for the church to get young people to step up in all aspects of the annual event.

Even the festival chairman this year is the youngest ever to hold the position. “I grew up dancing my whole life, and now I direct the older group,” said 29-year-old Manoli Rodarakis. “I have a group now that started when they were 5 and now they’re college age. Never once have I had to say, ‘C’mon, you have to come.’”

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Young dancers in step with their Greek heritage."