I was born February 1967 in the village of Chimadio, in the prefecture of Kilkis. My father comes from Euxine Pontus (Black Sea) and my mother from East Romilia (North Thrace). As a child of immigrant parents l grew up with my grandparents in the village. Although growing up without my parents was hard, it allowed me to be raised in a traditional environment. My grandparents taught me the dialect of Pontus (pontiaka) which I adore and I learned how to dance the traditional dances in their authentic form, as people used to dance at fairs, weddings and private parties.
In 1977 my parents returned from Germany and we moved to Diavata, a district of Thessaloniki. In February 1980 I became a member of the newly established Society of Pontus „Alexandros Ipsilantis“. Nikos Kiriakidis was my dance teacher! I attended three-hour classes twice a week. 1986 I began to serve in the army, but that did not keep me from dancing. On the contrary, I had the chance to learn other Greek traditional dances from my colleagues.
In 1994 I got married and came to Germany. After five years of adapting to my new life, I took over dance lessons in February 2000 in the dance club „Hellas Waldniel“ (Viersen). At the same time I taught in the „Viersen Greek Community“. This was followed by dance lessons at the „Mönchengladbach Adult Education Center“, in the „Greek Community of Mönchengladbach“, in the „Elektra“ Women’s Association (Mönchengladbach), in the „Greek Community of Ratingen“, at the „Essen Adult Education Center“, the „ZWAR“ dance group in Mönchengladbach and also the dance circles in Düsseldorf, Forstwald (Krefeld) and Neuss. At the same time, I also held several seminars in various cities in Germany, Austria and Belgium. I have been a member of the CID (International Dance Council) since July 2008 and received my certificate in the same year from the DORA STRATOY dance theater in Athens. I also organize dance trips to various places in Greece. Since 2017 I have been working exclusively as a dance teacher.
I believe in lifelong learning for both students and teachers. Accordingly, I try my best to attend seminars organized by teachers who are experts in local traditional dances and folklore. As a result, I learn the original traditional dances and their authentic performance style, which is very important to me. As I’ve already said, the lifelong learning is for everyone. You never stop learning, neither do I!