GREEK DANCES

Dancing is one of the great Greek traditions. Like all other peoples, Greeks find dancing to be much fun and an opportunity for expression. However, the dance takes on additional meaning for Greeks as a unifying factor. First, dancing unites the current Greeks to each other. The basic characteristics of Greek dancing are the same everywhere and the dances unite Greeks both in the Greek lands and abroad. The Greek dances are done by the humblest villagers, yet were danced by the King of Greece at royal crownings and weddings before the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Greek dances enable total beginners to dance together with experts, as no basic step is too complicated for anyone to learn with a little effort, while every dance provides the expert with opportunities for complex variations and elaborations. Perhaps more importantly, dancing unites Greeks with their past and, one hopes, with their future. The circle dance has been danced in Greece since ancient times. Researchers have found many artworks depicting dance poses from the ancient and Byzantine periods which bear a striking resemblance to the Greek dances of today. Indeed, certain dances (see Hasapiko, Kalamatiano below) can be traced back hundreds or thousands of years. See more information about Greek dancing based on region HSA will be organizing a Greek dance group to perform at events. See more information

KALAMATIANO: the mainland syrto

One of a variety of syrtoes. Syrto means dragging or pulling dance, and it is an ancient type of dance: Several ancient sources describe syrtoes and an inscription at Delphi from the 1st Century A.D. uses the name. The Kalamatiano was the popular syrto in the south and, because the south was liberated first, it became the national dance and spread elsewhere. It is not from Kalamata, but is named after a song about Kalamata, probably "san pas stin Kalamata" or "Mantili Kalamatiano" ("Kalamata Handkerchief"; Kalamata was long famous for its silk during the Byzantine Empire, and the song tells of giving a lover a hankerchief of Kalamata silk, which was a gesture of great affection.) The southern syrto can be danced in 7/8 or 2/4 rhythm (both divided long-short-short); musicians began calling all 7/8 syrto songs "Kalamatiano" after this song to distinguish them from those in 2/4, which are simply called "syrto." Some people say that the 7/8 songs should be danced with a little more of a hop, while the 2/4 songs should be strictly syrto, i.e. dragged. Traditionally, only the leader or lead couple did variations, but in performances today the whole group does variations.

HASAPIKO/HASAPOSERVIKO: the butcher's dance

This was the dance of the Butcher's Guild of Constantinople during the Byzantine period, and was then known as Makellarikos, from the "pure" word for butcher. The dance remained popular in Constantinople, western Asia Minor, and some islands for centuries until the 1922 catastrophe, after which it was absorbed by rembetika music and became panhellenic. In modern times, the dance has also become popular with sailors and is thus sometimes called Naftiko in ports. Thanks to the movie "Zorba the Greek, " it has become the best known Greek dance in the world. There are countless variations and no two groups of dancers do the same routine. The dance is done with a hand-to- shoulder hold, and the dancers may improvise the order of the variations, communicating with taps on the shoulders of the adjacent dancer. There are two parts to the dance, one slow and one fast; also called "hasaposerviko", especially for very fast songs. The slow and fast parts of the dance are sometimes done separately, sometimes together. A simplification of the slow Hasapiko, the Syrtaki, was first done in France in the 1950's and spread back to Greece. In addition to simpler steps, the style is more casual compared to the deep concentration of the slow Hasapiko. However, many variations are interchangeable between the two dances, and the names Syrtaki and Hasapiko are often used interchangeably in America. Americans also sometimes call the slow Hasapiko "Zorba," after the movie which popularized it. The steps of the fast Hasapiko may be found as part of dances throughout Greece, perhaps due to the cultural influence of Constantinople.

BALLOS: the dance from the greek islands

Italians occupying the Greek islands named Ballos after a similar dance of their own, but their name originally comes from Greek; the verb "ballizo" meant "to dance alone" in ancient Greek (in contrast with chorevo, "to dance in a group"). The basic "promenade" step is almost identical to the island syrto, except that it is done by couples rather than in a circle. Often the island syrto is danced first, and then the couples break off from the circle into the Ballos without stopping. Beyond the basic step, the steps are largely improvised by the couples. Ballos may be danced either in 2/4 time (subdivided long-short-short, i.e. 4+2+2) or 8/8 time (subdivided long-long-short, i.e. 3+3+2). Two basic styles exist. The Cretan Sousta (not described here) is related but distinct. The dance is known throughout the Greek islands including Cyprus, and before the 1922 catastrophe it was also popular among the Greeks of Constantinople and western Asia Minor (Ionia).

TSIFTETELI: the simple belly dance

The simple popular belly dance, not to be confused with the style of belly-dancing done by professionals. The belly dances originated thousands of years ago among the early non-Greek peoples of Asia Minor as fertility dances. The modern tsifte-teli is Turkish; chifte-teli means "double strings" in Turkish, referring to a style of violin/lyra playing that musicians once used. The Greek rembetes of Smyrna learned this dance from the Turks and brought it with them to Athens after the catastrophe of 1922. It was only common in the Smyrna style of rembetika music, not the Pireaus style, but the rhythm (4/4: 1-and, and-3, 4) has survived in popular Greek music today.

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The material presented on this page is based on Thomas P. Christy’s Hellenic dance info page.