Youth Greek Dance

Our Youth Greek Dance Ministry consists of two groups of children from our parish whose performances of the traditional folk dances of Greece are sought by civic and cultural organizations throughout Northeast Florida. 

Our Elementary group currently has around 20 dancers and is for children who are in kindergarten through fifth grade. It is called Filarakia, which means “little buddies,” and that is exactly what we’re building among the youth – friendships that will take our children through their many years of involvement with our church community. 

Our Teen group currently has around 25 dancers and is for children who are in sixth grade through twelfth grade. It is called Evangelakia, which is derived from the Greek word meaning “bearer of good news.” This group shares their “good news” with our local community on how St John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church has brought them together through faith, fellowship and various dances originating from all over Greece. The lively music makes it easy to engage this energetic group. 

We use the GroupMe app as our primary form of communication to keep track of our calendar of events, post teaching videos, and share music so that the children can practice at home. 

Our main performance intends to demonstrate our rich faith, heritage, and culture for our local community at our annual church festival, but we also are involved in other performances for different church events, and even local schools. We have practices scheduled for once/month coinciding with meetings from another of our youth ministries (GOYA) as many of the teen children overlap between our two groups. The Elementary group meets from 12:20pm-1:00pm while the GOYAns have their meeting, and then the Teen group meets following their GOYA meeting from around 1:00pm-2:00pm.

Important Dates/Performances to Keep in Mind:

** SJTD Greek Festival **

FRIDAY, 11/10/23 (4pm-10pm)

6:30pm – Filarakia (elementary)

7:00pm – Evangelakia (teens)

8:00pm – T’Adelphia (adults)

SATURDAY, 11/11/23 (10am-10pm)

12:00pm – Filarakia (elementary)

1:00pm – Evangelakia (teens)

2:00pm – T’Adelphia (adults)

5:00pm – T’Adelphia (adults)

6:00pm – Filarakia (elementary)

7:00pm – Evangelakia (teen)

8:00pm – T’Adelphia (adults)

SUNDAY, 11/12/23 (12pm-5pm)

1:00pm – Filarakia (elementary)

2:00pm – Evangelakia (teen)

3:00pm – T’Adelphia (adults)

** YOUTH GREEK DANCE MINISTRY FUNDRAISER – Saturday, March 9, 2024, 8p-12a **

Please reach out to our ministry leader with any questions – we always welcome new dancers!!

While the Adult Performance Group and Youth Dance groups are separate, we encourage anyone interested in Greek dance, young or old, to be involved in one of the two programs. Please click here to be directed to our Adult Greek Dance Performance webpage or reach out to the Adult Instructor, Staci Lagoutaris, via email at: [email protected].