Roma festival in Dedropotamos Thessaloniki 12th Seminar of Greek Dance

My 12th Seminar of Greek Dance in the summer of 2011 was a tribute to the traditions of Thessaloniki in Macedonia, Greece. Part of this rich folk mosaic is of course the Roma traditions. Dedropotamos is a suburb of Thessaloniki where many Roma settled after the exchange of the population between Greece and Turkey back in the 1922-23 (they came in Greece as refugees together with the Greeks of Asia Minor and East Thrace). Later some more gypsies came in the area from the northern Balcan countries like Romania and Bulgaria. That day I decided to trust the local Roma to organize their self a Roma party where they could dance whatever they liked and with the musicians they like. They also cooked for us their traditional wedding food and they decorate the place as they wish. This is a selection of some highlights of the festival.