For the first time, a Zeibekiku Festival is being organized in Australia, which is to be held in Sydney.

The event is organized by the expatriate dance teacher, Sofia Ventouri, and will last from July 1 to 10, offering young and old the opportunity to attend seminars and workshops on the history of zeibeki, enjoy evenings of national cuisine with feasts and appetizers , as well as to participate in special dance performances and competitions.

In fact, during the Festival there will be a workshop that will focus on zeibekiku movements that are suitable for women.

“I wanted to let the parish understand the history of Zeibekiku. I didn’t want, especially the children, to think that zeibekiko is a dance where you just fall on your knees at the end of a wedding feast. I wanted them to really understand its roots and the history it carries,” said Sofia Venturi to “Neo Kosmos”.

“We don’t want to forget the beauty of the history of this dance,” points out Ms. Ventouri, while explaining that the zeibeki dance started from a “more traditional type of dance”, ending up in this “more popular type of zeibeki dance that we know today.”

The Festival starts on July 1st and will culminate on July 8th, through a presentation that will include some of the biggest zeibeki musical hits of Greek cinema, which have left their cultural imprint.

According to Sofia, despite the fact that this Festival started “as something small”, it ended up “reaping” itself, as a result of which a visit to Adelaide was also organized.

Ms. Ventouri hopes that the Festival will act as an “enlightening” experience, especially for Greek Diaspora children, rekindling the passion for Greek history and traditions.