This project on Greek traditional dances is part of our e-twinning collaboration with Greenhill Primary School in Wales (teacher co-ordinator Ms Lisa Jones). Last year both schools exchanged activities and information on ancient Greek and modern Olympic games. This year the focus is on traditional dances.
INTRODUCTION
Greece is one of the few countries in the world where folk dances are as alive today as they were in ancient times. Dance has always played an important role in the life of a Greek. It is an expression of human feelings and everyday life. The Greeks danced at religious festivals, ceremonies; they danced to ensure fertility; to prepare for war and to celebrate victories; they danced at weddings; to overcome depression and to cure physical illness. Almost every dance has a story to tell. Dance was regarded as one of the highest forms of art.
CHARACTERISTICS
There are two distinct categories in the traditional Greek dance; the springing/leaping dance and the shuffle/dragging dance known as sirtos; the latter being the oldest form of dance. Most dances are circle dances, start with the right foot and move counter-clockwise. Each dancer is linked by a handkerchief or by holding hands, wrists or shoulders. In mixed dances, the man will lead the dance, which allows him in most regions to improvise or break away allowing him to express himself. Until recently, men and women rarely danced together although chains of men and women danced together at the same time, the women in the inner circle and the men in the outer circle. The order of dance varies from region to region. In general, the men are commonly at the beginning in descending order of age, followed by the women also ranked according to seniority.
REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Greece has 6 mainland regions: Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly,
Central Greece and Peloponnesus. In addition, the islands fall into 3 main groups:
the Ionian Islands to the west, the Aegean Islands to the east (which include
the Cyclades and Sporades groups) and the Dodecanese Islands to the southwest.
The largest of all the Greek islands is Crete. Although Cyprus is an independent
country, it is however the largest island inhabited by Greeks and falls within the
Greek major cultural regions.
Furthermore, areas previously inhabited by Greeks and which have developed
rich cultural identity and characteristic dances, today no longer are part of Greece
although the inhabitants of the majority of these regions have found refuge in
Greece itself. Examples are Constantinople, Pontus, Cappadocia and Konya
in Asia Minor. Greek dancing differs from region to region and its choreography
and movements very much depend on the morphology and the climate.
EPIRUS: it is especially rich in folk music. It is rugged and mountainous and the steep gorges
impose heavy garments and boots. A unique characteristic of the region is the polyphonic singing. Dances from Epirus tend to
be slow and heavy and danced with immense dignity.
MACEDONIA stretches from the north east on the Aegean coast across to the north west to the Pindus mountains. It is very mountainous with small valleys. Macedonia has an especially rich folk culture.
THRACE is particularly rich in dancing with a wide variation in hand holding positions. Their dances are lively and generally energetic.
The instruments common to this region are the bagpipe (gaida) and the lyra.
THESSALY (where we live and our school is) retains a strong tradition of song-dances where the dancers sing the music, often without instrumental accompaniment . The dances are slow and controlled.
STEREA ELLADA: The dances here tend to be slow and controlled. The clarinet is the main instrument in this region.
PELOPONNESUS: The dances here have similar characteristics to the ones in Sterea Ellada.
AEGEAN ISLANDS: The music of these islands is very delightful and lyrical and as such portrayed in its dances. These are characterised by the lightness of steps and the springing in the knees.
IONIAN ISLANDS: These islands were highly influenced by Italy. The people from Corfu are particularly musical. It is not uncommon to see organised concerts in the main squares. The dances are graceful, flirtatious. Cephallonians are noted for their humour which is portrayed in their dancing.
CRETE: Their music and dance is dynamic and fast. Each Cretan dance gives opportunity for each dancer to lead and improvise. A particular characteristic of the Cretan dances is the springing movement of the dancers. The Cretan lyre is the most distinctive instrument on this island.
PRESENTATION OF THE TRADITIONAL DANCES WE LEARNT AT SCHOOL
During our school show for the national celebration of 25th March (the date of the Greek revolution) the girls from grades 5 and 6 presented the following traditional dances:
Pogonisios: a dance from the place Pogoni in the Epirus region of Greece. The rhythm is 4/4. It is a circle dance, danced by men and women holding hands, facing right.
Bazargana: A traditional Greek dance deriving from the region of Zagorohoria in Epirus. It is mostly a womanish dance, holding shoulders. The rhythm is 9/8 and there are 16 steps. It is one of the fastest dances of the region of Epirus.
Syrtos-Kalamatianos It is a panhellenic dance, one that is done all over Greece with little changes from place to place. Syrtos means dragging dance; (“Syrto” comes from the verb syro (to move something from one place to another without lifting, to pull, to drag). Kalamatianos means dance from Kalamata a city in Pelloponisos region of Greece. The dance is named for the song “San pas stin Kalamata.” It is a circle dance danced by men and women holding hands. It has 12 steps and the rhythm is 7/8.
Ikariotikos one of the most beautiful and alive traditional dance of Greece from Ikaria, a Greek Island in the North Eastern Aegean Sea. It is a circle dance danced by men and women holding shoulders. There are two parts to the dance and the rhythm is 2/4.
The following two dances are from rehearsals in our PE class (grade 6 B).
Hasapiko is a Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords. It was performed by the Greek butchers guild (“kasap” in Turkish) and it was adopted from the military of Byzantine era. In Constantinople during the Byzantine times, it was called in Greek “Mακελλάρικος Xορός” (“Makellarikos Horos” from the Greek word “makellaris”=butcher). It is danced mostly of men in a straight line (line dance). Hasapiko served as one of the bases for the Sirtaki (Zorbas).
“Zorbas or Syrtaki” is a musical composition by the Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis for the film “Zorba the Greek” by Michalis Kakogiannis based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis.It is based on two songs: “Strose to stroma sou gia dio” by Mikis Theodorakis and on a traditional Cretan song “Kritiko syrtaki”, composed by Giorgis Koutsourelis. The song featured in the 1964 and became popular around the world. The track has been recorded by many different musicians from around the world.
