The Magic of Greek Dancing: The Greatest Traditional Dances

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Traditional Greek dancing has been a favourite mode for Greeks to observe since clip immemorial. Dance has ever had a salient presumption successful Greek nine passim the centuries.

Greek dances for each occasion

Dancing, (or “horos”), has held a precise important spot successful Greek civilization for thousands of years.

Over clip it has evolved to suit the needs of antithetic groups of Greeks, who person made their ain dances, starring to large determination diverseness successful this astir physically expressive of the arts.

Dances are highly important to Greek communities, and execute a societal relation arsenic well: you volition often spot Greeks spontaneously (or not!) burst into creation astatine weddings, Greek Easter, oregon schoolhouse functions.

Zeibekiko

One of the astir unsocial and visually striking Greek dances is the zeibekiko. Zeibekiko originated successful Asia Minor, and the bequest of tragic displacement and of a homeland mislaid surely lives connected done this dance.

It is hard to creation the zeibekiko, chiefly due to the fact that it has nary acceptable steps and a analyzable rhythm. It requires an interior intensity, due to the fact that it is an improvised question that expresses the feelings of the idiosyncratic who gets up to dance.

This meaningful creation often conveys feelings of defeat, of sadness, life’s despair and unfulfilled dreams, the atrocious luck you spot coming, and the acheronian astatine the extremity of the tunnel.

Zeibekiko is performed solo and was traditionally exclusively to beryllium danced by males, but women person begun to instrumentality portion successful this expressive question arsenic well, breaking sex roles.

Hasapiko

The hasapiko, which really translates to “the butcher’s dance,” finds its origins successful Constantinople. This Greek creation has tons of history, arsenic it tin beryllium traced each the mode backmost to the Middle Ages!

Originally, it was a miming of conflict performed with swords by Greek butchers oregon cutlers, though implicit clip it has evolved to beryllium an highly fashionable creation with Greeks from each walks of life.

There are some dilatory and accelerated versions of the hasapiko which tin beryllium performed, but a peculiarly challenging mentation of the creation is accepted connected the land of Mykonos.

The Mykonean hasapiko is simply a overmuch much hard saltation of the wide fashionable Greek dance, with much hard creation moves.

A video of 400 radical dancing the challenging Mykonean hasapiko is shown below:

Sirtaki

The Sirtaki is simply a newer Greek dance, and is technically a choreographed mentation of the hasapiko creation shown above.

The sirtaki was choreographed by Giorgios Provias for the 1964 movie “Zorba the Greek” and truthful tin besides beryllium referred to arsenic Zorba’s dance.

The Sirtaki is simply a radical creation and is performed with each dancers holding each different by the shoulders successful either a enactment oregon a ellipse formation. The much accepted mentation of Sirtaki is danced successful a line.

Kalamatianos

The Kalamatianos is 1 of the astir well-known and fashionable dances successful Greece. It is performed with each the dancers holding hands successful a ellipse and moving counterclockwise.

One of the distinctive elements of the Kalamatianos is that the pb dancer does not clasp the 2nd dancer by the hand; instead, they clasp either broadside of a handkerchief.

This is successful bid to amended the mobility of the pb dancer, truthful that they tin execute the peculiarly elaborate steps mostly expected of them!

This Greek creation is simply a faster 1 and is mostly performed to explicit happiness and joy.

A video of the kalamatianos being performed successful accepted formal is below:

Sousta

The sousta has its origins successful Ancient Greece and continues to clasp large value for the islands of the Dodecanese. The creation is incredibly fashionable and is typically performed by pairs of men and women.

The sousta is performed astatine weddings, to found the hubby and woman arsenic a couple. The creation itself carries large symbolism involving romance, eroticism, and marriage. It is simply a 3 measurement dance, and the mates volition transverse implicit their hands portion “hopping” energetically.

There are determination variations crossed the Dodecanese and beyond, with immoderate of the astir wide performed variations originating from Crete, Rhodes, Kos, and Kalymnos.

Traditionally, spectators propulsion coins connected the level adjacent the dancers to amusement appreciation for their skill. This originated from erstwhile a vessel would beryllium placed successful beforehand of the dancers, to beryllium filled with coins arsenic a token of admiration of the pb dancers.

A video of radical dancing the sousta each the mode successful South Africa is shown below:

Pontic Greek Dances: Serra

The serra is simply a Pontic Greek dance. It is named aft the Serra River, successful the Trapezunda (Trebizond) portion of modern-day Turkey. It is besides sometimes referred to arsenic the Lazikon dance.

It was primitively created by Greeks from the Pontus country of the Black Sea. As is the lawsuit with astir Pontic dances, the serra originated arsenic a warfare dance, and would person traditionally been utilized to motivate soldiers earlier entering battle.

The serra is traditionally performed by men, holding hands passim the dance.

As is the lawsuit with astir Pontic dances, it is usually accompanied by euphony from the Pontic lyra.

Tsamiko

This Greek creation is named aft the portion successful Epirus it sprouted from. The Tsamiko comes from Tsamouria, which is an country of coastal Epirus spanning some Greece and confederate Albania.

Today, the tsamiko is danced passim Central Greece, the Peloponnese and Thessaly. It is peculiarly fashionable successful the Ioannina and Thesprotia regions of Epirus, wherever a slower mentation of the creation is favored.

The tsamiko is simply a slower dance, which focuses little connected peculiar steps and overmuch much connected the cognition and emotiveness of dancers. It is traditionally lone performed by men, who clasp each different by the manus portion bending their elbows ninety degrees upwards.

It is often danced to observe nationalist holidays, specified as Greek Independence Day (the 25th of March).

Pentozali

The Pentozali is 1 of the astir fashionable dances from the land of Crete. As is the lawsuit with astir Cretan dances, it is highly energetic, requiring dancers to leap up and down enthusiastically.

This Greek creation has a precise meaningful name: it comes from the 5th (“pente”) effort by Crete to liberate itself from Ottoman rule. The 2nd portion of the sanction straight translated to dizziness (“zalli”), meaning the sanction of the creation tin besides beryllium interpreted to mean that it tin marque dancers 5 times dizzier!

Originally a warfare dance, it involves a batch of improvisation arsenic dancers clasp each different by the enarthrosis and rotate counterclockwise. Similar to the Kalamatianos, the pb dancer is expected to execute a much vigorous and acrobatic routine, meaning that the archetypal 2 dancers clasp hands alternatively than shoulders.

The pentozali is performed by some men and women, with the knowing that women dressed successful accepted agelong dresses cannot beryllium expected to leap and determination arsenic vigorously arsenic their antheral counterparts!

A video of the highly energetic pentozali is shown below:

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