Each year before the summer vacation children, teachers and parents come together at the Agios Markos primary school to present what the children have learned during the school year and to have fun moving together. Due to the pandemic this year was the first time in two years that the event could take place which is why everyone was very excited. I had the chance to accompany the different classes in their preparation for the event and helped the teachers during the celebration.
The preparations already started two months earlier in the PE lesson. Each class practiced a dance or choreography that was either accompanied by traditional Greek music or by modern music. To the Greek music, with its very characteristic rhythm, the children had to move in a circle while performing simultaneous order of different steps. While practicing with them I also had the chance to learn the steps myself. In the beginning everyone was a little uncoordinated but week by week the children got more confident with the movements. These lessons were very important for them to learn more about their traditional music and dances which are a great part of the Greek culture.
Especially the older students were focusing more on modern dances since these are more interesting to them and they are therefore more eager to participate. The PE teacher had prepared a different choreography for each class that they learned step by step. I was responsible for playing the music at the right time and also often watched out for the other half of the class who weren’t practicing. Furthermore, the teacher entrusted me with the task of rehearsing the choreography with the boys of the 6th class. We used a parachute, that everyone was holding together, to perform different moves such as spinning the parachute or getting underneath it. It was challenging, yet fun to make sure that everyone knows what to do at the right time but eventually we were ready for the celebration.
On the 9th of June, one of the last days of the school year, the day of the celebration had finally come. It took place outside on the school yard so we had to arrange chairs for the visitors and prepared all of the equipment for the choreographies. I was responsible for installing the sound system and to make sure that everything is ready. After the audience, consisting of parents, grandparents and siblings of the children, had arrived the celebration could commence with the traditional dances. Afterwards, every class played a fun little game. Some of these included running others balls and teamwork, but it was always great to see how the children were cheering their classmates on. Then, it was time to present the dances and children and teachers alike were a little nervous. The girls of the 6th class had prepared a dance with hoolahoops with the song “Rasputin” and the fourth class danced to “Kill this Love”. Finally everything went smoothly and the parents were proud to see what their children had learned this year. The celebration finished with a common performance of the whole school. The music was a Greek song about peace and the children were performing gestures which represented the song’s lyrics. Then, each class sat down in a circle so that all together 5 connected circles were formed which symbolized the 5 Olympic rings. That was a perfect way to finish the celebration, spreading the ideals of peace, cooperation and inter-nationality. The celebration had come to an end, everyone went home with their families and I was happy that I could contribute my part!!
