Our dancers gratefully accept any donations, even the

smallest is very much appreciated.  All donations are tax exempt and come with a "Thank You" letter from the dancers along with our non-profit tax ID number for your records. We thank you in advance for your support in our endevour to keep our rich, historic and beautiful culture alive.
Donate by mail:
Make check payable to:
Dance Group, Greek Orthodox Mission South Orange County
P.O. Box 1214
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693
 

We’re still building our program and the way the childrens faces light up when we go to competition every year in February is priceless. Take a look and you’ll see---we’re still in progress so the website will continue to be changed and you’ll be able to see more pictures as we go along!  This year, the older team “Methorios” is traveling through the island of Samothraki or Samothrace.  The younger team, “Helidonia” is still perfecting their Thracian, mainland suites. We pride ourselves on trying to maintain a high level of authenticity as we research all the regions. we welcome you to take a look.

Our Instructors

 

Cathi Halfhill

Cathi Halfhill has been teaching and directing Greek dance since 1991. She has directed many award winning groups from the Long Beach, Los Angeles, Redondo Beach, Pasadena, and San Bernardino communities.

She is a member of the multi Folk Dance Festival sweepstakes award (the highest honor awarded at the FDF) winning group, the Olympian Dancers of The Assumption Greek Church in Long Beach, California.

Cathi has also earned the Sweepstakes award with two groups that she has directed. Other awards earned alongside the 1st through 4th place medals are: choral awards, costume awards, special achievement, and the Director's award, for which she was granted a trip to the island of Crete in Greece to study with the famed Kety Kareklas and Andreas Fragiadakis. While there she studied the local customs of the peoples of Crete as well as their song and dance.

She also studied the Greek folk costume with Kety Kareklas and Ioanna Papantoniou and has been a consultant to many groups within the United States. Cathi plays the clarinet, and the defi, a percussion instrument. She is currently learning the Kalymnian tsambouna from Manolis Houlis of Kalymnos, Greece.
  

 

Vicky Hioureas

Vicky Hioureas has been involved with Greek folk dancing for over 17 years. She has been dancing with the same award-winning dance group, Levendia, since she was four-years-old, and has recently been bringing her experience to the surrounding Greek Orthodox communities.

She now directs the dance group Methorios at the Greek Orthodox Mission of San Juan Capistrano. Vicky has learned to play the daouli, the folk drum, and has also performed as a singer for many dance groups. She is passionate about preserving the Greek folk dance culture and works to pass on her energy to her students. Vicky has also traveled to Northern Greece to conduct research in the stylistic (and linguistic) intricacies of the Thracian region.