Naoussa Dance Troupe
The Naoussa Dance Troupe was founded in 1988, with the aim to preserve and re-establish the traditional dances, music and folklore the region. It also aims to meet and forge friends relations with the residents of other regions in Greece and abroad with similar interests and activities.
The Troupe is active in the following areas:
Traditional dance, six dance troupes.
Traditional music with the violin, lute, bagpipes, toubeleki (drum), Cretan Lyre, accordion and clarinet.
Folklore - responsible for publishing the books Roots and Path (1994) and Shall We Play a Game? (1998).
Drama program that initiates children and adolescents into the world of theatrical expression (eight plays presented thus far).
The NDV is managed by a 7-member council that is elected every two years. Their wardrobe comprises over 100 traditional costumes from Paros (copies of 16th century dress), Crete, Kefalonia, Kalymnos, Kythira, Alexandria, Imanthia, Skiathos and Ayvalik, Asia Minor.
The Troupe has participated in and distinguished itself at many Greek festivals and events (Athens, Xanthe, Chios, Naxos, Ios, Thessaloniki, Lefkaka, Karpathos, Skiathos, Trikaka, Volos, Naoussa Imathias, Serres, Kilkis, Thassos, Argos, Koufonisia and Crete), as well as abroad (Portugal, The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Egypt, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Malta, Tunisia, Italy, Turkey and Cyprus). In 1989, the Troupe won the 3rd International Award at the Thracian Folk Festivals Xanthe, and in 1995 they were official representatives of the Greek Embassy of Germany in a series of events organized in Bonn and other German cities.
The Troupe has also organized two EU seminars (Teaching Greek Traditional Dances, 1994 - The Lyres of Greece and Their Dances, 1996), the 1st Pan-Cycladic Festival for Music and Dance Troupes (The Cyclades in the Circle of Traditional Music and Dance, 1988), and in collaboration with the Dora Stratou Theater, presented traditional bridal dress and a tribute to the Parian wedding and its traditions (Tribute to Bridal Dress, 2000).
Moreover, by regularly implementing a cultural exchange program, the Troupe has, to date, hosted and presented Paros to 30 traditional dance troupes from Greece (Kilkis, Serres, Thessaloniki, Pilio, Trikala, Chios, Mykonos, Naxos, Karpathos, Crete, and others), Cyprus (Omonia Aradippou, Larnaca, 2001) and abroad (Ζvanche - Soumen, Bulgaria, 1995, Citta di Palagianello - Taranta, Italy, 2001, Dance Troupe of the University of Dokuz Eylul, Izmir, Turkey, 2002, and others).
The Naoussa Dance Troupe has also appeared on television programs of a traditional and recreational nature on state and private stations (ΕΤ-1, ΝΕΤ, Antenna, Mega, Star, TV Macedonia).