Biography
"Demetri Tashie's love of Greek music and dance began at an early age. As an adult, he developed a ion for the folk music, rituals, costumes, and crafts associated with the cultures of rural Greece. Mr. Tashie has an extensive folk instrument collection, complete with tsambounas, many intricately carved chanters for askomandouras, a Cretean bagpipe, zurnas, flogeras, and gaidas. He also gives lecture demonstrations on the instruments used in Greek folk music, teaches Greek folk dance, and judges Folk Dance Federation competitions held across the U.S. Aside from performing and teaching, Mr. Tashie frequently travels to Greece to film documentaries on folk rituals and celebrations of village life. His ion is for the Anastenaria custom of Eastern Thrace in which the participants dance on burning coals in honor of Saint Constantine and Saint Helen." - Kennedy Center
