Boston to Greece: Connecting with Lykeion Chapters in Epirus, Macedonia, and Beyond

With 56 chapters in Greece, 4 in Cyprus, and 14 abroad, it isn’t always easy for Boston Lykeion Ellinidon members to meet fellow Lykeion ton Ellinidon (LtE) leaders in person. This year, however, our organization had an extraordinary opportunity to connect with “sister” chapters or branches. While visiting Greece for an extended stay earlier this year, Dr. Kosmas Kosmas, performing dancer and representative of the BLE Traditional Dance Department, joined a variety of Lykeion festivities.

Organizations across Greece and the diaspora, including our own, ring in the new year by gathering to symbolically slice a traditional vasilopita. Kosmas brought season’s greetings from Boston to both the LtE Ioannina and LtE Arta’s vasilopita celebrations.

BLE Traditional Dance Department Representative Kosmas Kosmas leads the dance at Lykeion ton Ellinidon Arta’s Vasilopita celebration. Next to him are Lykeion ton Ellinidon Arta Dance Director Giannis Saplaouras and Lykeion ton Ellinidon Arta Board Director Fani Biskanaki.

Kosmas leads the dance at Lykeion ton Ellinidon Ioannina’s vasilopita celebration.

With members of Lykeion ton Ellinidon Ioannina.

Gift exchange with Lykeion ton Ellinidon Ioannina.

On April 29, Kosmas and other notable speakers presented at the LtE Ioannina’s celebration of International Dance Day. His talk, “Χορός και Διασπορά” (“Dance and Diaspora”), was informed by his many years as a performer and dance instructor in troupes in Boston and across Greece.

Watch the presentations on YouTube! (Video is in Greek language.)

Kosmas and the leadership of Lykeion ton Ellinidon Ioannina.

Kosmas presents on “Dance and Diaspora.”

At a later event hosted by LtE Ioannina as they welcomed LtE Kavala to their city, President Marina Filippidou of the Lykeion ton Ellinidon of Kavala, extended her invitation to BLE President Irene Savas to attend the 21st Congress of the Lykeion ton Ellinidon. This global event, which brings together Lykeia chapters from around the world, will be hosted in Kavala during September 26th-29th.

Lykeion ton Ellinidon Ioannina President Tereza Giannena, representative of the BLE Traditional Dance Department Kosmas Kosmas, Lykeion ton Ellinidon Kavala Dance Director Hronis Ioannidis, and Lykeion ton Ellinidon Kavala President Marina Filippidou.

We welcome Kosmas back to Boston, grateful for all the insights, collaborations, and friendships he gained in his time serving as Boston’s dance ambassador in Greece this year!

About Kosmas

Dr. Kosmas Kosmas is a research scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center–Harvard Medical School. A traditional dancer since 1994, Kosmas has performed with the cultural associations “Katsantonis,” “Aitoloakarnanes,” “Kardamitsia,” “Krapsites,” “Lakmos,” and “Eleousa” in Ioannina, Greece; “Evros” and “Folklore of Traditional Dance” in Alexandroupoli, Greece; and “3rd Hellenic Generation” in Cologne, Germany.

He has been a member of the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon since 2018, and has represented the Department of Traditional Dance since 2023. Previously, he served as dance director of the cultural association “Marmara” in Ioannina, Greece from 2009 to 2010. In 2007, he attended and received certifications for the seminar “Entrepreneurship and Culture: Dance Troupes” and the course “Mentoring and Teaching: Greek Traditional Dances” in Alexandroupoli, Greece.