Athan Karras Status:   Active Specialty:   Greek Range:   Greek	CLICK TO ENLARGE
Athan Karras, of Thesaloniki, Greece, is a well-known authority on and performer and teacher of Greek folk dance. He was lead dancer with Panegyris Queen Frederika, the National Dance of Greece Ensemble, under the direction of Dora Stratou. Athan's instruction explores the various styles of Greek folk dance, covering the many provinces and the islands of the Agean and Ionian Seas. His teaching investigates the music and dances as an integral part of Greek cultural expression. He continues to teach regularly at such venues as the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, and the California Traditional Musical Society (CTMS). With Rudy Dannes, Athan co-founded The Intersection Folk Arts Center (originally The Intersection Folk Dance Center) in Los Angeles in 1964-65. For many years, The Intersection was the premier location for folk dancing in Southern California. Many celebrities came to dance there, including Marlon Brando, Bo Derek, Ginger Rogers, Telly Savalas, and Omar Sharif. Athan carried on the tradition by founding the Athens Intersection in the Plaka area below the Acropolis. Athan has traveled the United States, teaching and lecturing in major cities and conducting seminars and workshops at many of the leading college and university campuses. He has presented several folk festivals, featuring dancers, singers, and musicians at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Loyola Marymount University. Athan has directed his own Greek dance groups, including the "Intersection Greek Dancers" and "Dionysus." He has been an instructor of Greek dance and culture at Loyola Marymount University and the United States coordinator for Mazoxi, an annual dance conference held on the island of Crete. Athan has produced numerous dance festivals and events in the United States and Canada and created ethnic folklore programs for the Southern California Heritage Society. Athan is a member of the Dora Stratou Greek Dances Theatre and Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors for the AMAN Folk Ensemble, and an Advisor and Director of the Folk Dance Programs for the California Traditional Musical Society (CTMS). He also founded and served as Director of the Laografia International Greek Folklore Society, is a Cultural Consultant for the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, a Member of the LA Cultural Arts Committee, Founder/Directgor of the International Greek Folklore Society, and member of Actors Equity, AFTRA, and SAG. Athan is constantly on the go between television and his many film engagements (you can see him leading the Greek dancing in the made-for-TV movie "Star Maker," for example), as well as appearing on Broadway. Athan is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and has more than twenty-five years experience in theatre, film, and television. He had the lead role of Yanni Martakis (and credit as Choreographer) in the acclaimed 1957 black-and-white film noir "Dark Odyssey (in one scene he leads a Tsamiko and dances with a sword!), which is now available on DVD." Other TV and movie credits include General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, Knot's Landing, Thornbirds, Skyjack-Hijack, The Labyrinth, Run for Your Life, Garrison's Guerillas, Combat, Empire, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, T.H.E. Cat, Death Valley Days, Purification of T.S. Williams, The Telly Savalas Special, Divorce Court, Superior Court, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Nomads, Target, Sunnyside, Zeus-Crime Killer, Rednight, and Our Immigrant Heritage. He has also been seen on Broadway in Loss of Roses, Garden of Sweets, Most Happy Fella, Pal Joey, and Oedipus; Off-Broadway in Deathwatch, Zoo Story, Tonight We Improvise, Ilya Darling, and Freedom or Death; and in other venues in Rose Tattoo, Golden Fleece, and Caisar & Cleopatra. Athan has received many awards. He is a lifetime member of The Hellenic University Club of Southern California, which recognized him for his contributions to Greek Culture and Heritage. He was named Man of the Year at the Levendia Conference, a Greek Folk Festival in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He received the 2001 Athenagoras I Humanitarian Award, the highest award given by the Greek Orthodox Folk Dance Festival of the Western Diocese. He also was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the California Traditional Musical Society (CTMS). As an entrepreneur, Athan brought the Parthenon Dancers of Greece to the United States and Canada for several tours. He has taken groups to Greece to visit dance festivals and ancient sites. On March 3, 2007, his friends presented A Musical Tribute to Athan Karras as a vital member of the Greek American Community in Los Angeles at the St. Roberts Hall, Loyola Marymount University. The evening consisted of a musical program and live music for dancing. Athan has produced several outstanding recordings of Greek folk dance music that include the regional sounds of the mountains and the islands. He was featured in a multicultural video produced by Human Kinetics and has produced an instructional video, Learn Dances with Athan Karras, that details steps and styling of Greek regional dances. Among Athan's CDs, videos, and other publications are Dance Songs of Greece. Basic and popular Greek dances (CD - $9.95). "Did You Say Dance?. Article. The Hellenic Journal, July 2002. Greek Dances with Athan Karras. Video. Several dances, variations. R&R Video International.(Video - $24.95). "Greek Traditions in Music and Dance." Article. Learn Greek Dances. Video. Basic Greek dances for beginners (Video - $24.95). More Dance Songs of Greece. Popular Greek folk dances ($9.95). Songs of Greece. The Intersection, c. 1960 Spirit of Greek Dance. Travel through Greece (CD - $14.95). Traditional Greek Dances. A collection by Athan Karras (CD - $14.95). Dances Athan taught include Agiovasilitiko, Anatolitiko, Arvanitiko Kofto, Ballos, Dodecanesian Sousta, Epirotiko Tsamiko, Fysouni, Gaida, Gaida Gidas, Gaitanaki, Hasapiko (Grigoro), I Trata, Hasaposerviko, Ikariotiko, Kalamatianos, Kamara, Kangeli, Karagouna, Karsilamas, Kastorianos, Kerkyreikos, Kofto Arvanitiko, Kritiko Syrto, Kykladitiko Syrto, Laziko, Lefkaditikos, Lemonaki, Levendikos, Makedonikos Horos, Makrinitisa, Maleviziotiko, Mandinades, Mayia, Mermingas, Mihanikos, Nizamikos, Partalo, Pentozalis, Pera Ston Pera Kambo, Pilalitos, Pogonisios, Pontiakos Dance 21, Simbethera, Soultana, Sousta, Sousta Rethimnis, Sta Tria, Syngathistos, Syrtaki, Syrto, Syrtos Silivrianos, Tai Tai, Tsamiko, Tsirigiotiko, Tsobanistiko, Vari Hasapiko, Zagorisios, Zagoritikos, Zeimbekiko, and Zonaradhikos.

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