Nea Smyrni, a suburb of Athens, on October 3, 2018, hosted an outdoor performance of Armenian dance as part of its “Ionikes Giortes 2018” festival of the arts. The three dance troupes of the Hamazkayin in Greece, “Nayiri,” “Nanor,” and “Maralo” performed. The program was sponsored by the town hall and organized by the ARF Athens Gomideh.
Hamazkayin has participated in the town’s summer festival in the past, but this year was different. The “Masis” dance troupe from the Hamazkayin Thessaloniki Chapter, with its 17 members, integrated with the Athens groups, performing as one grand group. The success of the joint program was possible only thanks to the coordination efforts of the Hamazkayin Thessaloniki Chapter Executive Board and the financial support of the local church.
The board had long had a joint performance on its agenda, especially in view of the artistic vision and long-term goals of the organization’s talented dance instructor, Edgar Egyan. This year that dream came true and a longstanding gap was filled.