Meet us on the dance floor: Getting to know Katherine Papadimitriou Ladikos

Katherine Papadimitriou Ladikos was born and raised and still lives in Atlanta, GA. At the age of 4, she and her brother Dimitri were dragged from Saturday Morning Cartoons to meet with a woman named Eleni that would teach them Greek Dancing inside the dining room of a restaurant. Who knew from both sides that one simple dance of Kastorianos would take a full day to master and turn into a lifetime of love for Greek Folk Dancing.

Katherine & Dimitri would perform their duet for a few years and started learning new dances with the older group that their Mother Kiki Papadimitriou had joined. The journey began with performances at Greek Festivals and Events all over the Southeast and many travels to the infamous Winter Dance Conferences learning from many International instructors from Dora Stratou & Lykeion Ton Ellinidon and National instructors who still grace the world of Greek Dance today. Troupe Hellas would eventually introduce several groups incorporating all ages from age 5 and up and eventually Katherine and Dimitri would be dancing and performing with their peers and parea.

Katherine was very dedicated to the world of dance and would help make costumes, assist with teaching, and taking roles on the board and in 1995 Troupe Hellas would evolve into the Lykeion Ton Ellinidon Atlanta and the sad departure of their long time director Eleni as she moved out of the country and would now become more involved. The group was like a fine wine and grew better and better over time. Eventually events, festivals, and dance conferences would turn into competitions at both FDF and HDF.

Katherine and Andrew knew each other since little kids but it was the dance group and the tight bond of their parea that would bring them together and marry in 2007 which is around the time when Katherine stepped back from dancing due to a genetic retinal degenerative disease which was making it most difficult to learn and perform. Although Katherine is not physically involved in teaching and performing her heart beats and feet don’t stop moving for Greek Folk Dance. Their sons Kosta and Stefanos are both in the dance group and both Katherine & Andrew are proud to cheer them on, sneak in a dance here and there, all while making new memories and reminiscing about the good ‘ol days.

If you liked this episode, please consider making a donation in Kat's name to the Foundation Fighting Blindness:

https://donate.fightingblindness.org/webdonation

Episode Music: Endasi Live in Miami