About KSOT
The National School of Dance (KSOT) is a public (and therefore tuition-free) three-year educational institution that operates under the supervision of the Greek Ministry of Culture. It is governed by a five-member Board of Directors and an Artistic Director. The staff of the school consists of professors and the administrative staff.
History
KSOT started as an exclusive private school established by Koula Pratsika in 1973 and was the first educational institution of dance to be officially turned over to the Greek state.
Born in 1899 in Patras, Koula Pratsika was first presented to the Greek public in 1926 as the leading dancer in Aeschylus’ tragedy “Prometheus Bound,” on the occasion of the Delphic Festivals organized by the poet Angelos Sikelianos and his wife Eva Palmer. This experience was a catalyst, as it led her to move abroad in 1927 and study for three years at the Jaques-Dalcroze institute, which was housed in the palace of Laxenburg, near Vienna.
Completing her studies and returning to Greece with two degrees (one in Rhythmic-Musical Education and one in Dance), she rented a small space at 3 Massalias Street in the center of Athens. She started to give rhythmic and dance education classes, cultivating the arts of dance and music in her students.
Pratsika bought a plot of land at 55 Omirou Street in Kolonaki, at the feet of Lycabettus, to build and establish an art school. Under the guidance and supervision of the architect Georgios Kontoleontos, a modern and innovative three-storey building was designed and built, which houses the National School of Dance to this day.
In 1937 she founded the first professional school of dance in Greece, recognized by the Ministry of Education.
The educational program of Pratsika was based on the model of the Laban and Dalcroze system, and theories adapted to the needs of Greek education.
The daily program of the school required seven hours of lessons andincluded four disciplines: gymnastics, orchestral (dance), rhythm and music, while the curriculum was supplemented by lessons in theory.
The first diplomas were awarded in the summer of 1943. The school was underused until 1946, when national circumstances allowed it to reopen and to enjoy fifteen years of intense pedagogical and artistic activity.
The year 1970 was a milestone for the Homer Street school, when Koula Pratsika entered into negotiations to make the school part of the Greek state’s educational system. From 1973 to the present, the school has been officially operating as the National School of Dance (KSOT) and is supervised by the Ministry of Culture.
Διευθυντές
ΝΤΟΡΑ ΤΣΑΤΣΟΥ (07.08.1980 – 11.08.1988)
ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ ΜΙΛΗΣΗ (12.08.1988 – 11.01.1990)
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΥ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ (16.02.1990 – 30.06.1990)
ΝΤΕΝΥ ΕΥΘΥΜΙΟΥ – ΤΣΕΚΟΥΡΑ (05.09.1990 – 31.10.1999)
ΠΑΥΛΙΝΑ ΒΕΡΕΜΗ (04.11.1999 – 27.03.2018)
ΒΙΚΥ ΜΑΡΑΓΚΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ (30.03.2018 – 03.07.2020)
ΔΑΦΝΙΣ ΚΟΚΚΙΝΟΣ (21.07.2020 – )
