On the 11th February 1998, a representative body of the Cretan culture in
Sydney was established with the name "CRETAN FOLKLORIC COMPANY".
This body is nothing other than the transformation of the Musical-dancing School
"Platyrrahos". The Cretan Folkloric Company is supported by patriots and
friends, whom for two years now are beside the young Cretan dancing teacher and musician,
and are proud of his work and efforts.
A new Cretan body in Sydney was necessary to be formed, so therefore the Cretan Folkloric
Company was established. We are not working against any of the existing Cretan
Associations or organisations of our city. We respect their existence, we honour their
history, and ask for their co-operation. Our aim is to promote the Cretan traditions, our
cultural heritage. We want to leave something for the generations to come, to make them
feel responsible that they are Cretans, even though they are living thousands of miles
away from their parents birthplace.
The Cretan Folkloric Company, is helping our children create through various gatherings
and through communication, the warm Cretan companionship in life, through joy, pain,
action & ambitions, so we can feel once again the voice of our eternal Crete, bring us
to new desires and expectations. So we can once again find the beauty of life, which today
is going through a severe crisis and hardship, so we can strengthen our ties through
communication,politeness and pure humanity, which were missing in our times.
We believe that Crete keeps all these within herself, with the passing of time, and our
return to the land of Crete, will enhance us in living it's beauty, and we will be
released from foreign ways of life and entertainment, which poison our lives day by day.
The Cretan Folkloric Company, will be the new body which will make us appreciate and live
the beauty of our Cretan culture, throughout all phases of life. For this reason, we are
supporting the efforts of our children, which began two years ago, for the promotion of
dance, song, music and theatre, all elements of our Cretan culture.
This is why on the 11th February, we decided to form a committee, which with it's support,
will make our children continue to strive for excellence, create and achieve. We know that
our times are hard and difficult, and we will find many obstacles and hurdles in our path.
We also know that we have to struggle and strive hard in order to achieve our goals. We
also know something more important, something more hopeful, that our compatriots and
friends can help us with their actions, when it is for our children's well-being, and the
continuation of the traditions of our place of birth, Crete.
 |
The first Executive Committee of the “Cretan Folkloric Company”, which
consists of : (from left) Manolis Bargiatakis,
Lefteris Platyrrahos, George Parliaros, Stavros Vourvahakis (treasurer), Stelios
Voulgarakis (vice-president), George
Vardakis (president) and Odysseas Platyrrahos (secretary). |
Message from the Dance
Instructor and Musician Michael Platyrrahos
As the Artistic Director of the CRETAN FOLKLORIC COMPANY, I am proud in
saying that I am satisfied with the progress of our children, two years after our
establishment. In the dancing department, the four dancing groups of our company are
progressing positively and are performing consistently, at various community festivities,
multi-cultural celebrations and different social events of our compatriots. 
They
are being recognised daily, and are being embraced by our Greek community at large. They
are most importantly, promoting the traditional elements of our cultural heritage
correctly, to the wide multi-cultural society of our country, and they are worthy of every
praise. Ancient traditional dances which are forgotten even in Crete at this day and age,
have been preserved and maintained by juniors and seniors with great success and play a
significant role at our traditional Cretan dances.
Our choir with it's "mantinades", and the "rizitika" songs, revive the
Cretan traditional song, dating back to the Byzantine years.
Our musicians have resurrected Andreas Rodinos, Manoli Lago, Baxevani, Koutsoureli and
many other establishers of our Cretan Demotic music. Fifty/sixty years after the death of
these masters on the other end of the earth, our musicians are preserving the melodies of
all these founders of our Cretan music. It is very emmotional, to see an eight-year old
Australian-born Cretan playing lyra, on the other side of the planet from where the music
originated fifty or sixty years after the composition.
These are the reasons,why our fathers and forefathers were involved with the various
organisations, associations of our community for the benefit of their children, so that
with their involvement, their children could inherit their culture and their traditions.
They are the aims of the CRETAN FOLKLORIC COMPANY, this cultural body of our country, that
will honourably represent and promote our cultural traditions through all phases of life.
The worthy expressors of our traditions, with their dance, music and song make us always
proud as they represent us so beautifully. Our traditions, flourish on to the next
generations, and the efforts of our fathers and forefathers to blend the cultural ties
with our generation, has filled us with respect and feelings of obligation to attempt the
same.
I congratulate all the children who are undertaking tuition, in the fields of music, dance
and song. To their parents, I wish every success, and to take pride in the way they are
upbringing their children. These children one day, will be the new breed which will
continue to live the Cretan culture, in this country we are living in, and are the hope of
the future for the flourishing of our politistic heritage and the preservation of the
traditional elements of our culture, which day by day are being assimilated.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone, who is supporting my efforts of blending our
cultural ties, with the new generation, which must continue to maintain the cultural
elements of our heritage. With the ongoing support of my parents, friends and our elite
compatriots, I am given strength and courage, as I continue to strive, plan and create.
Michael Platyrrahos.
