Christina Tsardoulias was born in San Francisco, California. She began her studies in Greek folk dance at the Church of the Holy Cross in Belmont and attended her first Folk Dance Festival (FDF) in 1985. Alongside her studies in Greek folk dance, Christina pursued extensive professional dance training and performance opportunities with the San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Oregon, Oregon Ethnic Dance Theatre, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and The School at Jacob’s Pillow. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Oregon and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, where she completed her master’s thesis, “Meraki: Revisiting the Paniyiri of Saint Pandeleimon in Kokkari, Samos.” While studying in Southern California, Christina danced and taught at the Assumption Greek Dance and Cultural Arts School of Long Beach. In 2003, she founded the Samos School of Dance in Samos, Greece, which she directed until 2026. Christina has presented her work and research internationally at conferences and symposia, including the Congress on Research in Dance, Dance History Scholars, the Dance Studies Association, the National Dance Education Organization, and the Isadora Duncan International Symposium. She continues to collaborate with cultural organizations and academic institutions in Greece and abroad, including Democritus University of Thrace, the Vacchae Dancing Art Organization, the Goulandris Museum, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Loyola Marymount University. Since 2017, Christina has served as a dance adjudicator at the annual Greek Orthodox Folk Dance and Choral Festival (FDF) of the Metropolis of San Francisco. She currently serves as a dance instructor and choreographer at the Lykeion Ellinidon of Samos, continuing her commitment to Greek cultural heritage, dance education, and artistic research.
