The “mother” of Greek dance in Australia

Sophia Vardavas-Haskas has been recognised as the mother of Dodecanese culture for the Rhodian Diaspora in Australia. Thousands of Greeks in the Fifth Continent have been introduced to their ancestral dance traditions through the dedication and passion of this Rhodian woman. Her early steps in life were taken in Greece, under the shadow of war and displacement. However, the future dance teacher would prove to everyone—especially herself—that greatness often arises from the humblest of beginnings.