General Contact: Eleni Chakalos – 732.229.3998
Reservations Info: Cheryl Bontales – 732.796.1006; bontsc@aol.com
info@hellenicdancersofnj.org
www.hellenicdancersofnj.org
www.facebook.com/HellenicDancersOfNJ

2011 Taverna Night Dinner Dance
Special Performance by the Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey

Holmdel, NJ – The nationally famous Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey (HDNJ) present the 2011 Taverna Night Dinner Dance, Saturday, February 12, 2011, at the Cultural Community Center of Kimisis Tis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church, 20 Hillcrest Road in Holmdel, NJ. Beginning at 6:30 pm, attendees will enjoy a full Greek dinner buffet, Greek and popular music provided by DJ Pegasus, and a special performance by the Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey. All proceeds from the event will support HDNJ in preserving the folk dance customs of Greece, and perpetuating Greek heritage in America. Funding from the event will also support the dance troupe’s 2011 touring schedule. This public event is funded in part by the Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey, Inc., New Jersey State Council on the Arts - Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Cultural Trust and the Coby Foundation, Ltd.

Advance reservations for this event are $35 for adults; $25 for students aged 13 – 23; and $15 for children 12 and under. For reservations, please contact Cheryl Bontales, 732.796.1006; bontsc@aol.com. Tickets the day of the event are $5 more respectively. All donations are tax deductible as HDNJ is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.

The special performance for the 2011 Taverna Night Dinner Dance is a “pikilia”, an assortment of dances from all over Greece including Crete, Thrace, Epiros, Kerkyra and Rhodes, as well as and its Diaspora, Cyprus, Pontos and Cappadocia.

For over 39 years, HDNJ has researched, performed, and preserved over 325 dances from throughout mainland Greece, its islands and the Greek Diaspora, including Cyprus, and Pontos, Cappadocia and Ikonion (provinces formerly found in present day Turkey). Comprised of 40 young adults who are first, second or third generation Greek Americans, HDNJ functions as a living history organization in that the dances learned and presented are still alive in Greece. The troupe takes pride in every enthusiastic performance, as each member strives to learn the particular nuances that accompany the individual dances from Greece’s diverse regions. As the first group of its kind in New Jersey, HDNJ has inspired the creation of numerous Greek folk dance groups across the country, and is a well-respected component preserving Greek culture in America.

Founded in 1972, the Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey is a group of young men and women, who are first, second, or third generation Greek-Americans, and are dedicated to perpetuating their heritage through enthusiastic performances of the regional folk dances of Greece. Under founders, Fr. Jim and Eleni Chakalos, over 300 folk dances, songs, and traditions from mainland Greece, its islands, Cyprus, and Asia Minor, have been preserved and passed on to two generations of Greek Americans. This outstanding troupe is nationally recognized for its presentation of Greek traditions and has performed at a number of local and national events including: Dukakis Presidential Rally, Inaugural Festivities for former President Ronald Reagan, Statue of Liberty Weekend Grand Finale, 20/20 ABC Television Program, Queens College of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies Benefit, O. Elytis Chair of Modern Greek Studies at Rutgers University Benefit, Union County College Folk Arts Festival, the NJ State Ethnic and Diversity Festival, for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew upon his first official visit to New Jersey, and Greek Heritage Day with the Metrostars. Members of the troupe participated in the Closing Ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and at the 2006 Centennial Epiphany celebrations in Tarpon Springs, FL.

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