Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

By John Kostarakis
Entry: Free

Music, Song and Dance are an integral part of the Greek way of life. It is important to understand how expression through music and dance has been influenced by evolution and phenomenon over hundreds of years.

Biography

John Kostarakis was born in Melbourne, growing up in a traditional Greek family embracing tradition, religion, and language. Like many of his ancestors, music has always expressed him. After his study and time in the corporate field, he decided to follow his calling.

Since his studies in Performing Arts, John has performed at many music venues across Australia  until the present day. He has worked at several Greek Language Schools and has taught dance and singing at various Greek organizations across Melbourne.

He is the current principal of the Greek school “Nestoras College” where his primary focus is the preservation and the sharing of our language and cultural inheritance.

John has dedicated his life to researching the Greek culture, often travelling to remote, almost abandoned, regions in Greece. He strongly believes that for our language to survive and to move forward, language learning must incorporate even more so, the use of song, drama and dance as language and identity learning tools.

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The Greek History & Seminars Cultural sub-committee would like to thank Mrs Annette Scales, the Access Yea Community Education Program Manager, for sponsoring the presentation by John Kostarakis titled “The History of Music & Dance and its importance within the eras”
Such generous contributions encourage and ensure the continuation of the Greek History & Cultural Seminars series. Once again we extend our gratitude to Mrs Annette Scales.