Aristoula Toli

Thessalia 

Aristoula Toli is a PhD candidate at the Department of Pedagogy andPrimary Education at the University of Ioannina in "FolkloreStudies". She graduated from the School of Physical Education and SportsScience of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, specializing in "Greek Traditional Dance" and holds a master's degree in"Dance Studies" from the same department. She teaches traditional dance in cultural associations while conducting seminars and workshops on various topics, including the theoretical aspects of dance practice. She hasheld traditional dance seminars in numerous countries across Europe, the UnitedStates, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, and has collaborated with numerous university departments. Since 2022, she has been working as a researcher independently and in collaboration with various organizations and the Ministry of Culture. Since 2019 she has collaborated with the photographerMichael Pappas on the project “Mitos/ The thread of Greece” an ongoing ethnographic work on local costumes around Greece in which she is a scientific advisor. Recently she served as a dance judge at the Greek Orthodox Folk Dance& Choral Festival (FDF) and as a costume judge at the Hellenic DanceFestival (HDF). She is the co-founder and deputy artistic director of the organization “Avlés”.

Dimitris Bakos

Karpathos & Corinthos

Dimitris Bakos was born in 1981, resides in Loutraki, Corinthia and has origins from Perachora of Loutraki, Agnanda of Artaand Myriki of Evrytania. He is a graduate of the Hellenic Open University,specializing in Greek culture. His involvement with dancing started at the age of 13 years old in the Association of Loutrakiotes Perachorites. Later he became a member of the dance group of the Lyceum of Greek Women of Athens. From2004 until today he is professionally involved in teaching Greek traditional dance in ethnic local associations and cultural clubs: Association of Loutrakiotes Perachorites, Dance Club Eirini of Heraklion Attica, Lyceum ofGreek Women of Megara, Lyceum of Greek Women of Tripoli and Asia Minor House ofCorinth. In 2005, he began his involvement with music, which was the occasion for his acquaintance with Ivan Costov and his apprenticeship on the bagpipes with him. He continues his career as a musician and in 2010, being self-taught,he deals with the Tsabouna, while at the same time he learns the Kaval under the teaching of Stavroula Tryfiati. Dimitris Bakos has represented Greek Traditional music and dance in numerous concerts, dance performances, festivals and festivals both in Greece and abroad. Indicative milestones are the theatres he has performed at: the Dora Stratou Theatre, the Herodou Atticus theatre, theAthens College, the Michael Kakoyannis Theatre under the auspices of theMinistry of Culture, where he has been the curator of the music and dance performances that have taken place.

Erini Tornesaki

Choral

Vocalist and educator Erini Tornesaki aka "Erini" grew up in a musical family on the island of Crete, Greece. She played the piano and cello and performed with her hometown’s string orchestra and choir. As a descendant of Greek-Anatolian refugees, Erini’s mother introduced her to the Greek - Anatolian musical tradition. Going on to complete a Master at the Berklee College of Music paved new paths of experimentation for Erini as she redefined the constraints of genre and birthed a new sound combining Greek traditional music with contrasting genres such as jazz, pop and classical music. Erini has had the opportunity to showcase her musical heritage at Carnegie Hall and she was an Official Selection Showcase artist at WOMEX 2023. She has sung in 2 Grammy-nominated albums and has collaborated with artists such as Danilo Perez, Terri Lyne Carrington, Nella, Jorge Glem and Daniel Hope and Greek Artists such as Vasilis Skoulas, George Xylouris and Pantelis Thalassinos. She has directed and presented three productions commissioned by the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Greek National Opera. Erini is also a professor at the Berklee College of Music and presents workshops and lectures of Greek traditional music in universities including Harvard, Princeton, Tufts amongst others. Erini has been awarded the Greek America Foundation’s 40 under 40 Award, the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Traditional Arts Fellowship and the New Music USA Grant Award. Erini serves as a choral judge at the Greek Orthodox Folk Dance & Choral Festival (FDF). She is the co-founder and artistic director of the arts organization Avlés. Erini's debut album “Fos” was released in June 2024 with Ropeadope and Minos EMI (A Universal Music Group Company).