GNOSI Forum 2024

Our mission is to spread Greek folklore through presentations, seminars, performances, and much more. Through this, we can do our part in showcasing and producing Greek dance and music research, helping local cultural organizations and parishes to develop their dance programs, and help to “pass the torch” by providing resources to the next generation of researchers and instructors.

Paul calzada - AFIEROMA

Presentation: “The Soustas of Rhodes”

Paul Calzada was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL before moving to Hollywood, FL at a young age. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from University of Florida and is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Engineering from there as well. He is a "Gruban" (Greek Cuban) American; His father is from Cuba and his mother's parents are from Greece, specifically Kremasti, Rhodes and Agrosikia, Pellas (Pontian roots). He began his dance journey in Hollywood, FL from a young age in elementary through high school. This group in Hollywood, Klironomia, performed at various local and metropolis functions including festivals, fundraisers, and the Hellenic Dance Festival. 

In university, he desired to bring the same fervor for Greek dance to his college town in Gainesville, FL by directing the Greek American Student Association dance group with UF. The group labeled the "UF GASA Dancers" performed at various university and local functions. He then founded the Afieroma Greek Dance Program at St. Elizabeth Greek Orthodox church in Gainesville in 2018 to bring the dance community into the church. He is currently director of Afieroma and enjoys teaching various dances from all over Greece with great emphasis on the Dodecanese. Paul enjoys being able to teach authentic and unique content while dancing with his closest friends.

Panayotis (Paddy) League

Presentation: “Musical Inter-Communality in the Greek World”

Panayotis League is a musician, composer, and author specializing in the musical and poetic traditions of the Greek Aegean and Ionian islands. He is Assistant Professor of Musicology and Director of the Center for Music of the Americas at Florida State University, and an active performer and recording artists throughout Greece, Europe, and the Americas. His first monograph, “Echoes of the Great Catastrophe: Re-Sounding Anatolian Greekness in Diaspora,” is available from University of Michigan Press, and he is actively working on a collaborative scholarly analysis of Greek-American folk dance festivals with Dr. Joanna Eleftheriou and Anastasia Panagakos.