The Metropolis Folk Dance and Choral Festival, which took place at the Marriott Marquis January 11-14, was a great success. With over 108 groups participating, it was the largest FDF to date. The Cathedral was represented by five groups, namely, To Mellon, Revmata, Thisavri, Spithes, and Atithasi. To Mellon, our youngest group, received participation medals. Thisavri received second place in the Division 2 Choral Competition. Thisavri also received Fourth Place in the Junior Category. Spithes received Fourth Place in the Division 1 Intermediate Category. Atithasi, the young adult group, performed at a non-competitive level on Sunday, following the Divine Liturgy, and just before the Advanced Senior Competition. In our opinion, all our groups are winners. As is our custom, the groups presented their trophies at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy the Sunday immediately following FDF. A period of evaluation and regrouping follows this premier youth event, and, then, the groups will convene for performances, the Festival, and, of course, FDF 2019.
The groups are:
To Mellon: Pre-K-1st grade, directed by Irene Kyriacou and Katerina Sarikakis
Revmata: 2nd-4th grade, directed by Katerina Sarikakis, Trina Misthos and Eleni Taptelis
Thisavri: 5th-7th grade, directed by Irene Kyriacou, Lea Lyberopoulos, and Lea Papavasiliou
Spithes: 8th -12th grade, directed by Irene Kyriacou, Lea Lyberopoulos, and Lea Papavasiliou
The Cathedral also has another group, Atithasi, made up of young adults, directed by Michael Garibaldi and Nicole Garibaldi. The group will perform in Division 4.