Nancy Athan Mylonas

GICREF028

Participants
Nancy Athan Mylonas
Intervieweer(s)
Alexandros Balasis
Date and Location
October 7, 2023
Toronto, ON
Languages
Greek
Permalink
Project
Greeks in Canada: A Digital Public History
Reference ID
GICREF028
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Categories
Tags
Decades Referenced
Locations Referenced
Mytilene, Cairo, Suez, Athens, Australia, Goulburn, Sydney, Thessaloniki, Toronto
Occupation(s)
Theatre Director, Greek Dance Teacher, Choreographer
Parents Occupation(s)
Confectionery Artisan

[00:00:02] Short summary of her life
[00:02:54] Early years in Egypt and her love of dance
[00:05:36] Her father's migration to Egypt and his first wife
[00:09:05] Her mother's death and growing up without her
[00:10:31] Her education and relationship with locals
[00:13:15] Military training and growing up Greek
[00:15:32] Life under Nasser and leaving Egypt
[00:21:52] Discovering Greek folk music in Athens
[00:24:55] Migration to Australia by ship in 1961
[00:27:20] Writing a play and learning Greek dances
[00:33:20] Transition from Egypt to Greece and Australia
[00:40:45] Studying Greek folklore and the 1974 mobilization
[00:50:08] The Greek Folklore Center in Sydney
[00:54:56] Her love for Greek culture and poetry
[00:57:50] Anastenaria and the taxi driver
[01:04:00] Greek associations; an award for her service
[01:07:15] "Canada, my Ithaca" winning the Karolos Koun award
[01:17:54] Migration to Canada; diplomats' spouses
[01:24:18] Her impressions of Canada and the Ekfrassi group
[01:32:31] Directing plays and the diaspora's future