AROUND & ABOUT BRITISH COLUMBIA
THE HISTORY, MUSIC & DANCE OF THE GREEKS OF ASIA MINOR
PHAROS, the Canadian Hellenic Cultural Society on Nov. 25th sponsored an evening of music and dance in celebration of its 25th Anniversary Season. This was presented by Dimitrios Kontogiannis and his group of singers, musicians and dancers.
The upper hall of the Hellenic Community Centre was packed for the occasion. Greek appetizers and wines were offered before the presentation as well as desserts and coffee towards the end of the presentation. The whole presentation took almost three hours and even then not everything that was planned for the evening could be fitted into the program.
Dance teacher Dimitrios Kontogiannis presented an overview of the history of the Greeks of Asia Minor. The Greek presence in Asia Minor, which spanned over 2,500 years, came to an abrupt halt after the massacre of Greek civilians and the burning of Smyrna on September 13, 1922. A forced evacuation resulted in millions of refugees flooding into Greece, affecting the economy of that state. It also had huge social and cultural ramifications.
Mr. Kontogiannis with the help of the singers, musicians and dancers traced the musical roots of the people of Asia Minor by presenting examples of Byzantine chants, songs and dance from Kappadokia, Pontos and the Asia Minor Coast, the Smyneic style of the Café Aman and finally the rebetika of Piraeus. The popular music of modern Greece is still influenced by the style of music that arose out of the refugee camps and slums after the population exchange. Mr. Kontogiannis brought the history of the Greeks of Asia Minor to life, not only through the music and dance but also through segments of interviews with families of survivors of the Catastrophe.
Dimitrios Kontogiannis paid special tribute to Fred Shulof, a Philhellene who for many years taught Greek dance in Vancouver. Mr. Kontogiannis has always been inspired by the dedication that Fred had to the teaching of the Greek dances. It is evident to many that Mr. Kontogiannis also has this dedication and love as he himself has spent almost twenty years teaching the Greek dances to the youths and others of Greater Vancouver. His group of dancers have travelled the circuits of Greek community festivals for many years, providing free entertainment for countless patrons of those and other Greek events throughout the Vancouver area and beyond.
HELLENES CAME FROM THE OCEAN
A HISTORY OF GREEKS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
The official launch of the History of Greeks in BC Documentary took place on the evening of Dec.14th at the Hellenic Community Centre in Vancouver with a wine and cheese reception. The documentary had originally been conceived as a one hour VHS documentary but with advancements in technology the final result was an eight hour, two DVD package, in colour and in both English and Greek. The documentary was a joint production of the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC, the Hellenic Canadian Federation of BC and Yannis Katomeris. It took almost three years to make and was produced without the aid of any government funding, relying on donations from various Greek organizations, businesses and individuals.
The documentary was directed by Yannis Katomeris with Nick Panos as coordinator and researcher. The music was under the direction of Anna Pashalidou and Tassos Pallas. Mary Economidou was production manager, Sotiris Kordalis was in charge of editing and Kostas Palmas looked after photography. Narration was by Ian Robertson.
. Apostolos Fyssas, a past president of the Hellenic Congress of BC was the emcee for the evening. Speakers included Nick Panos, also a past president of the HCC and the coordinator for the project, George Bonnis the current president of the HCC of BC, the Honourable Steven Owen, MP for Vancouver-Quadra, Dr. John Pearce, Dean of Arts at Simon Fraser University and Prof. Yannis Katomeris, the director of the project. A number of people within the audience were also acknowledged. These included Rev. Dimitrios Partsafas, Rev. Dorotheos Tryfonopoulos, Apostolos Liourdis, the Maritime Attache and Vice-Consul of Greece, Tassia Berggren, the Consul of Cyprus and Dr. Andre Gerolymatos, the holder of the Chair in Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University, the largest Chair of its kind in all of North and South America.
Greeks started to settle in British Columbia in the late 1800’s but the history of the first Greek (also the first European) to touch the shores of BC goes back to 1592. Apostolos Valerianos (also known as John Fokas) of Cephalonia, Island, Greece was a navigator and map maker who worked for the Spanish, mapping the Pacific coast of Mexico, California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The Strait of Juan de Fuca, the body of water between Vancouver Island and the state of Washington is named after him.
MP Steven Owen said “five generations of Greek descent have come together to watch this important compilation, of not only a tremendous contribution of Greek culture to the very fabric of our country but also for the expression of us all really of the culture from where western civilization comes and that is something which we pass on to our children and grandchildren which we see expressed and celebrated and properly respected in this wonderful church and community centre throughout the year. If our country means anything to us, and of course it means a great deal to all, it’s that we reflect the world and everything that is best in it. There is no way that we can progress in the future unless we are educated and understand and encourage that we be proud of and to pass on the culture, history and education of our parents and forbearers”.
Several monitors were set up in the hall where people could watch sections of the video before the program began. As well a twenty minute preview of the documentary was shown on the large screen after the conclusion of the speeches.
Nearly seventy hours of tape were filmed; this was then reduced to about twenty- four and then again reduced to the final eight. The documentary is divided into eight categories over two DVD’s so that it can be viewed in sections. The cost of sixty dollars for the package is a fair price. Every family of Greek descent should have a copy of this historical document in their home. The HCC is hoping to sell enough copies to not only recover the cost of the production but also to add to the coffers of the HCC for future projects. Anyone interested in buying a copy should contact the Canadian Hellenic Congress of BC or Nick Panos at Omega Travel Service.
