Nancy Athan-Mylonas, came to us by way of Australia when her husband was sent to Toronto for Diplomatic Service in 1990. Nancy, lived, breathed and thought her craft and had left behind a very successful school of Dance Theatre in Sydney, Australia to come to Canada – so it was only natural that she seek out a place to bring her craft to a new group of individuals. Nancy, presented her scheme to t
he Greek Community and was immediately met with such enthusiasm that she started working at Wilkinson Public school for the Greek Heritage language Program, on a pilot Dance Theatre program. Since its creation, 15 years ago, Nefeli has performed in numerous Cultural events. The awards, kudos and admiration of this group have been great and spans distances from Greece to Chicago, to Washington, to Boston, to Florida, to Montreal and back to its own home of Toronto. But the most amazing and valuable prize coveted by all those that know Nefeli is the sense of pride and love that these children of the Diaspora, have for the country of their parents or grandparents birth. A country that gave them the history, culture, heritage and nostalgia that they live and breathe. The very embodiment of Greece’s culture and pathos within the tiny souls of the children that call the four corners of the world their home but that call Greece, their mother. Within each of these young minds, hearts and bodies burns the flame of the Hellenic Spirit – the spirit that cannot be erased either through the ravages of time or the misdeeds of her enemies. In the hearts of these “Children tis Diasporas” is the nostalgia and pathos and in their deeds is the future of the Hellenic culture and heritage dependent. May Greece be worthy of the seeds that she has sown for they shall take root on distant shores and sprout forth a new generation of Hellenes full of the same pathos and nostalgia of their forefathers.
