Greek Dance & Folklore

Experience

Nikolaos grew up in a very unique way, even for a Hellenic-American. His mother, Golfo Vastakis, was a founding and active member of Lykeion ton Ellindon in Atlanta, the first chapter in the United States. He was surrounded by Greek folklore from birth in the way of music, costumes, books, and, of course, dancing. His mother was a teacher as well and brought him to classes at the first moment possible. After the introduction of the “dance ministry” at the Greek Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral of Atlanta, he switched to dance with them from inception till 2023. While he has a strong distaste for competition, he competed as a member of the cathedral’s group at the Hellenic Dance Festival from 2012 to 2023. In 2022, he started, what is now, an extensive research index.

In May of 2023, after moving to New York, and demonstrating his commitment to continuous development, he started to collaborate with and study under the esteemed Mr. Petros Fourniotis at the Hellenic Roots Foundation.

He now teaches several groups in New York State and Connecticut. His youngest classes are age four, and his oldest classes have had average ages of 75+. This massive age range, while daunting, has taught Nikolaos different and effective teaching styles for each age group. While none of his current groups directly compete, they do perform multiple times throughout the year. Additionally, thanks to the extensive work of Mr. Petros Fourniotis, Nikolaos has access to one of the largest authentic costume collections outside of Greece for the performances his students put on. With the guidance of Mr. Petros Fourniotis and Golfo Vastakis, he started collecting costumes in 2024.

Dance & Teaching Apporach

As mentioned, Nikolaos teaches multiple groups in the Tri-State area. With his extensive music collection and research, he teaches from multiple regions throughout Greece. For curriculums, he teaches dances from the main regions of Greece to his younger students. However, as they get older, they will get more specific to the point of teaching dances and customs from a single village. All students are required to know the name of the dance, what region it is from, and be able to point out the region on the map. For performances where students might reenact a traditional custom, they must know the reasoning behind certain actions. All teachings are heavily researched before being introduced to students to make sure that students get accurate information.

The rigorous curriculum and focus expected from students prepare them for their future careers and enable them to become well-versed in their culture and heritage.

Discover Hellenic Roots: More Info

Research & Pathos

Dance in Greece was traditionally performed for a purpose or festivities. Nikolaos realized that to teach traditional Greek dance properly, he must be able to provide context to each dance. Therefore, in 2022, he began his research index titled Pathos. While Pathos was initially a research on Florina (Φλωρινα), it transformed into a compilation of different regions in Greece. It’s not just research on traditional dance and customs; it’s in the food they eat, the costumes they wore (or still wear), and how people lived their lives. This information is vital to understand why they practiced certain customs and, in turn, danced.

In a strive to experience customs still practiced today and to research with those who have dedicated their lives to these traditions, Nikolaos travels to Greece throughout the year when most of these traditions are performed. In February 2023, he traveled to Naoussa (Ναουσα) in Macedonia to research and experience Αποκριες (Apokries). In February 2025, he was invited to a conference of Western Macedonian instructors in Florina (Φλορινα). He is currently planning at least two other research trips for 2025.

Additionally, in 2024, Nikolaos started accumulating a collection of authentic costumes. His current collection includes pieces from/of: Ναουσα, Σαρακαστανι, Μετσοβο, and Θρακη.