A Short History of KUD Aleksandar Makedonski begins in the early 1990s. A close group of friends and enthusists, socialising, discussing the politics of the day, in a humble garage, over a shot or two of rakija, came to the idea of forming a Cultural Artistic Club. At the time the Macedonian Community in the South-west of Melbourne (Werribee & Hoppers Crossing) was substantial and still growing. W
erribee, a largely farming town, was a community seperate and indepedant of Melbourne. Many in the community were new immigrants or young families. Yet, they had no estiablished community groups, dancing club or a church of their own. In order to socialise and teach the Macedonian culture and tradition to their children the families would travel to the suburbs of Sunshine & Footscray. The group of enthusists realised that the Macedonian tradition, culture, song and dance must be preserved by bringing these families together, in Werribee, and with this the idea of establishing their own Cultural Artistic Club was born. On October 10th 1993, headed by Cane Markovski, together with Vele Matovski, Vasil Stojanovski, Mitre Taseski, Kole Petrevski, Mile Srbinovski, Makedonka Grozdovska, the late Vele Milenkovski and others, a general meeting was held at Cane's home garage, where a unanimous decison was passed to estblish the Macedonian Youth Association Aleksandar Makedonski of Werribee, Victoria. The association would serve as a social and creative outlet for the Macedonian youth of Melbourne's South West. By collaborating with the neighbouring communities and clubs of KUD of KUD Biser (Geelong) and KUD Jane Sandanski (St Albans), KUD Aleksandar quickly saw success in the following years. By showcasing the best of Macedonian song and dance to the Werribee crowd in 1994 the club became on of the highlights of the annual "Weerama: festival. Then-President Vele Matovski led the Macedonian contingent driving his truck down Watton St! There, KUD Aleksandar performed at two concerts, one in Rockdale as guests of KUD Illinden and in Bankstown as guests of KUD Vardar. The club quickly followed up that effort with a 1996 tour of Woollongong as guests of KUD Makedonija. The late 1990's saw a boom in Macedonian Folkloric activity. The Federation of Macedonian Folkloric Artistic Clubs (FOMKUD) had up to 15 clubs taking part in the annual Illinden Festival and dance contest. Participation was so large that the festival would take place over two nights, with several hundred patrons visting each night. KUD Aleksandar was and continues to be a supporter of FOMKUD Illinden Festival. Despite the success and strong membership numbers, the late 90's saw some internal conflict which split the club and threatened its demise. Fortunately, with strong support, the club survived. Meanwhile, in 1998, many members of KUD Aleksandar were also working to estblish the Macedonian Orthodox Church Sv Zlata Meglenska in Hoppers Crossing, whose Parish Priest was Rev Cedomir Illievski. In the early 2000s, KUD Aleksandar continued its support of FOMKUD Illinden Festival where it became a consistant top performer amongst the cultural dance clubs of Victoria, winning "Goceva Nagrada" in 2001,2002,2003 and 2005 and an "Illindenska Nagrada" in 2004. In 2006, the club won first place in the regional "Junior Fest". In 2011, KUD Aleksandar toured to Queanbeyan (NSW) and performed at MPC Sv Illija Community Centre as guests of KUD Razigrana Makedonka. The club's crowning moment was their tour of Macedonia in July 2014. Under the leadership of President Jane Mavcev, KUD Aleksandar's senior group performed in Krusevo, Skopje, paraded through Sirok Sokak in Bitola and took part in the Balkan Festival in Ohrid. The highights of the tour were the performances for the President of Macedonian, Gjorgi Ivanov and audacious performance in Ovcarani, Egejska Makedonjia, proudly carrying the name Aleksandar Makedonski!! In 2017 the group travelled to Perth, Western Australia, where they performed for Folkloric Ensamble Illinden. In October 2019, the CLub celebrated its 25th anniversary, reflecting on the years of selflessand tireless work put in by all the dancers, Choreographers, Committee Members, Musicians, parents, grandparents, family and friends. While celebrating the past and looking forward to the next 25 years, the club is awakening to its larger sense of purpose and its place within Australia's rich multicultural society. There is also a deeper purpose to the existence of KUD Aleksandar. Not only is it preserving Macedonian Culture, but it is also fostering the smiles on children's faces as they dance, socilaise and perform- a purpose well worth the selfless and tireless work. The club continues to collaborate with all Macedonain dancing clubs throughout Australia, local Macedonian church, social and senoir citizens clubs, FOMKUD, Junior Fest and many others. The club's home continues to be the Church Hall at Sv Zlata Meglenska Macedonian Orthodox Church (12 Lentini St, Hoppers Crossing).
