HUMANS OF BELLAIRE – Alexandra Maglaras, 11

“I started [Greek dancing] when I was in second grade. My brother danced, my parents danced, so I always knew I was going to at some point. Greek dancing is very traditional to each specific island from Greece, so basically we just take a couple of dances from different islands. It’s very upbeat, very loud and very energetic, so it’s a little chaotic, but it’s also really fun. Greek dancing is a chance to really just be myself and to celebrate my culture. There’s not a lot of other Greek culture right now in America, so it’s nice to be with my Greek friends and do things that are really just fun to us.

We start practicing [for the Greek Festival] in August, and it [the Greek Festival] is in October so we practice twice a week, about five hours each week. We do that all the way up through October, so it’s a lot of time, but it’s definitely worth it. When we perform at our Greek Festival, it’s three days out of the year. We perform five shows a night, so we are in full costume, like we kind of look like clowns when we’re on stage with full makeup. You go out there and you do two to three dances. There are multiple dance groups, so then you just wait until the next hour and do the next show. Your feet definitely start to hurt after a couple of dances and shows; it’s totally worth it, but it’s definitely exhausting. You get a little more confidence because you have to go up on stage with the lights shining straight in your face, so I’ve kind of gained a little stage confidence. I’m a little more willing to put myself out there. Anytime I hear any kind of upbeat music, even if it’s not Greek music, if it has similar beats, I just immediately think of it [Greek dancing] and want to dance to it.”