Museum Collection and Research Resources at the Dora Stratou Greek Dances Theatre

The Dora Stratou Greek Dances Theatre (grdance.org) holds a collection of about 2,000 museum pieces — costumes, jewellery, embroideries and other folk-art objects — and many of them are actually worn in performances rather than kept behind glass. Alongside the collection, the organisation runs research programmes in the ethnography, history and sociology of dance, maintains a library and audiovisual archive, and publishes records, books and other material. This is the place to look if you want to study Greek dance and folk costume rather than just watch a show.

The museum collection

The collection is described as a living museum of Greek dance, active since 1953. Its roughly 2,000 items include:

• Traditional costumes
• Jewellery
• Embroideries
• Other objects of folk art

The distinctive point is that these pieces are worn in the theatre's performances. The organisation also makes or rents copies of the authentic costumes in its collection — useful if you need a costume for a production, a school event or research purposes rather than a museum visit.

Research programmes and scholarly activity

The theatre's research work covers:

• Ethnography, history and sociology of dance, carried out with international collaborations
• A study group on ancient Greek orchestics (dance)
• Organisation of the World Congress on Dance Research
• Organisation of the festivals Anapali and Emmelia

It also cooperates with the International Dance Council (CID) of UNESCO, described on the site as the umbrella organisation for all forms of dance.

Library and archive

The library and archive hold recordings, films, photographs and records. This is the main documentary resource for anyone tracing how a particular dance or costume has been performed and documented over time.

Publications

The site lists the following published output:

Related resources and access points

• Pandektis of Greek Dance — a portal at dance-pandect.gr
• CID / UNESCO — cid-portal.org
• Special courses — traditional embroidery, rebetiko dances and dance therapy are offered alongside the school's regular classes
• Educational visits — a programme for primary schools
• School of dance — classes for beginners, advanced dancers and children, plus seminars and lectures for experienced dancers, and teacher training; classes and seminars are also available in English

The organisation is a non-profit body funded by the Ministry of Culture and the Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT), under the auspices of the Municipality of Athens. Performances take place at an 860-seat garden theatre on Filopappou Hill, with daily shows in season, by a company of 75 dancers, musicians and singers.

How to use these resources

If your goal is research or study rather than attendance:

1. Identify what you need — costume reference, archival footage, a publication, or contact with a research programme.
2. Start with the publications list if you need published documentation; the archive if you need recordings, films or photographs.
3. For costume work, ask about making or renting copies of collection pieces rather than requesting access to originals.
4. For academic collaboration, the international research programmes and the World Congress on Dance Research are the relevant entry points.

One practical caveat: the site does not state opening hours, access conditions or fees for the library, archive or collection, so those need to be confirmed directly before planning a visit or a research trip.