Koukla Aziza: Belly-Dancer of Greektown

Pre-Interview with Anne Kokot

This afternoon I met and pre-interviewed Anne Kokot at Gabby's on Danforth Avenue. Three hours, fifteen pages of notes and a myriad of impressions later, I am officially writing to say that "Aziza" or Koukla as she is affectionately called by Greeks, will be our main subject for our short video on remembering the Danforth. She is a woman in her 50's, expressive, gregarious and very engaging.

Anne's life experience has unspooled in Greektown over the past 40 years since her teenage years. She considers herself part of Greek culture despite the fact that her background is English and Ukrainian. She "hates" Ukrainian music and has always felt alienated from her own culture. Her heart and home have always been in Greektown on the Danforth, she says.

She started dancing when she was a child and auditioned many times for the CBC (who wanted a Marilyn impersonation from her, but she delivered Salome instead) and other old-fart institutions, only to be rejected multiple times. One magic night she found her calling when she went to a bar, The Blue Orchid (formerly on Bloor Street, now known as Lee's Palace) where her destiny was set; she swiveled her hips on a whim, only to be whisked backstage, strapped into a belly-dancing costume and pushed onto the stage to dance. The blue-eyed, blonde and nymph-like 17 year old transformed into the electric belly-dancer AZIZA, on the spot (and the previous in-house belly-dancer was given the boot.) Aziza would become her official stage name.

What followed was a vibrant belly-dancing career at such authentic Greek restos and bouzouki bars on the Danforth like The Nereida (1974-1977, photo above and left). The name refers to the nereid sea nymphs from Greek mythology. The Nereida was a landmark in Greektown, the place to go that offered the works: full-piece orchestra and imported singers from the old country.
Trojan Horse and Esperides were authentic middle-of-the-night Greek coffee houses where Anne danced in the basements to "Opa!" Here, "you could smell the Greek coffee all night long."

Anne eloquently yet simply described the transformation of Danforth Avenue from authentic Greek culture and food to commercialized, heterogenized strip with a faint hint of the past - a superficial mask for what was once present but is now preserved in human memory and private archival collections. Places like Quinta, on Logan Ave. were posh, expensive dining rooms which brought the best entertainers and musicians from Greece. All gone. The human memory as a living, malleable and personal archive is pertinent in this case.

On the Danforth in the 70's and 80's, the nightlife was in full swing - "nothing would start until 10pm." "At 2am you would crawl from one intersection to the next (it was so crowded), it was exciting, and in the summer with all the windows of the restaurants open, you would hear the Greek singers and their voices" as you passed by. There was also The Byzantium, an oregano- infused "greasy spoon" where they served luscious Greek cuisine at 2am in the morning, dripping vegetables and eggplant and rich moussakas, all home-made for $4.

Aziza would dance and dance on one stage after another and Greek men would swoon while Greek women would shatter glasses in front of her onstage and shout "Koukla!" (Doll)

Today, everybody recognizes Anne and when asked if she has ever visited Greece, she proclaims "I feel like I've lived in Greece, I feel like I've already been there."

Finally, "the death of the Danforth" and authentic Greektown came with the opening of McDonalds on Broadview and Danforth, a controversial event in the community whose members protested to no avail. Soon thereafter the other fast food franchises (Wendy's, Swiss Chalet) elbowed in, and finally, the nail in the coffin - gentrification, kicked out many Greek businesses due to increased rents. The first generation of immigrant business owners also grew older and moved away to the suburbs. And the authentic Greek bouzouki bars transformed into today's ubiquitous sushi bars.

Anne's scrapbook of memorabilia and photos embody her experiences and stories. Her exotic belly-dancer costumes still linger at the back of her closet. And her son Donovan takes after her with a passion for Greek bouzouki music.

A formal on-camera interview with Anne is scheduled this Sunday, November 9th at her home in the Danforth area.