AKRITES TOU PONTOU was created in 2011, aiming to bring together people with a passion about their Greek-Pontian heritage. Akrites is open to everybody who is interested in Pontian culture and how it is developing with the help of the Greek diaspora in Australia. Since then we have continued to express our passion for Greek-Pontian culture through traditional dancing, and although we seek to keep our traditions alive and honour them, we also simultaneously aim to challenge the way in which Pontian dancing is viewed and performed. Each year we attend the Lonsdale Street Festival where we perform on the main stage for the Greek population of Melbourne.

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Every performance is unique, often surpassing people's expectations. In previous years we have successfully worked with an Aboriginal group in 2016 where we created our most famous performance yet, “Phoenix of Dreamtime”. We have also collaborated with the Melbourne Georgian Choir in 2017 and with a Maori group in 2018 in “Argonauts of the Pacific”, a narrative based performance.

 

Akrites is also active in participating in the commemoration of the Greek-Pontian, Assyrian and Armenian Genocides that occured in the early 20th century, through attending lectures, ceremonies, conventions interstate and various commemorations every year. Our 2019 production, "Anatolian Awakenings" demonstrated the enduring strength of memory and the combined strength that Pontic Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians seek within our cultures, expressed through art, music and dance.

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Akrites is constantly seeking to grow our family through our dance group and our cultural collaborations, ensuring that the vibrancy of the Pontian culture is shared with all!

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