Right in the middle of Golden Beach (Chrissi Akti) on Paros, just 30m from the sea, you can find one of the most unique dancing schools in Greece – a 10x15m open-air parquet dance floor: the largest of its kind in Europe.
The Paros Dance Academy (PDA) has built up this place over several years to be in harmony with the natural environment of Paros – all materials are of wood, even the roof, creating a very special atmosphere for the dancers.
PDA owners Bettina and her husband, Kay (Kay Fotografos as he’s best known from Facebook) created a place for people who want to enjoy their holidays and also do something to tone their bodies at the same time. The dance programme Bettina offers includes Latin, Ballroom/Modern, Cuban Salsa and Pilates.
“I only teach the subjects, I know perfectly,” she says, “And for the other dance classes we hire only teachers who follow this philosophy. Unskilled and inexperienced teachers can do a lot of harm that is hard to change later on.”
Bettina’s experience is extensive: she has danced in international competitions in Latin and Ballroom for 19 years and holds titles that include German Vice champion, 7x Champion of Southwest Germany, 7x Vice-Champion of Southwest Germany and for two years has been at number 14 of the official world-ranking list.
After a three-year ‘break’ from competition dancing, Bettina now has a new dance partner, Stenli – also highly experienced. He has been teaching in Athens for more than 10 years, as well as in Israel, Turkey, Germany and other countries. He has been a competition dancer in latin and Ballroom for over 20 years, competing in some 400 competitions and earning titles including Bulgarian Vice Champion in 10 dances and Champion in Ballroom/Standard.
Not only are Stenli & Bettina top-notch teachers, but you will also have the chance to see competition-level dancing when they perform Tango Argentino dance shows at least twice a week at the Latin parties organised by PDA at various locations around the island.
This year, in keeping with the worldwide trend in Zumba® fitness, the PDA decided to start something new and invited Rania Alexopoulou to stay through July and August on Paros. Rania, from Athens, is a very experienced dance teacher and specialises in Zumba®. She will give daily lessons at Golden Beach, Paroikia and Naoussa, as well as at selected hotels, and will also teach Oriental, American Latin and Greek dance weekly.
The PDA works hard to bring groups to Paros for dance holidays. Their long-term aim is to help lengthen the summer season by bringing clients before and after the high season. As Kay says “It is our duty, as we love Paros, to try to help to change that with our ‘tool’ , the dance business. We are certain to be successful: we are in touch with top dancers and top teachers from all over Europe and slowly but surely they start to understand that Paros could be the perfect location to come regularly with their own students to make summer camps in June and September.
“But we expect groups from Athens too: in July, Eleni Kelly, daughter of the founder of Gene Kelly Studios who brought Latin dancing to Greece, will come for first time with a group of 30-60 dancers and is planning another visit in September.”
Another change this year, and good news for Parians, is that at the end of the summer season, the PDA plans to open a dance school in Paroikia to offer lessons year-round to Parian residents who are unable to join classes during the busy summer season. Usually Kay and Bettina leave at the end of September to their winter school – the Athens Dance Academy in Nea Filadelfeia – which they have been running successfully now for the past five 5 years.
There will also be winter Zumba® and Pilates courses as well as Latin parties with international guests from major dance schools and Latin clubs in Greece, bringing the Brazilian and Cuban spirit to Paros!
The PDA is now looking for the right location for the dance school in or near the centre of Paroikia.
“Our dream,” says Kay, “is to find an experienced partner who wants to open a small kind of bistro for easy food and drinks, because we want to have a place where people can also sit and relax, parents can watch their children dance and where we can organise special events.
“It’s a lot of changes for us this year, but we love it, especially the ‘coming home’ and staying on Paros the whole year: we have a house close to Drios, and I have been in love with Paros for 33 years now.”
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Samples of some beautiful wild flowers of this Greek Island.
Cooking recipes from Alice Meyer-Wallace's Cookbook.
Mary Godfrey's humourous illustrations of life in Paros Island.
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