A brief presentation of folk dances of the mainland Greece.
Recordings 1985 - 1995

The Greek Dance

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. Plato agreed with his mentor Socrates that every educated man should know how to dance gracefully by which he meant the manly exercises that kept the body strong and supple and ready to do its duty on the battlefield. The Pyrrhic, or weapon dance (a form of mock combat) taken from Crete and perfected in Sparta, was the ideal.
CHARACTERISTICS
There are two distinct categories in the traditional Greek dance; the springing/leaping dance and the shuffle/dragging dance known as syrtos; 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. Sometimes the married men come before the bachelors and likewise for the women. The oldest inhabitant always leads the dance. In the islands the circle is usually formed of groups of families, the husband leads the wife who is followed by the eldest son, his wife and their children etc. Occasionally the local priest will lead the first dance symbolising a blessing. In olden times a man never held a woman’s hand but a kerchief. This also applied to married couples. In some regions a woman could not dance next to a man who was not family: therefore a child or an elderly would be placed in between. Most women's dances are slow, simple and dignified whereas the men’s dances

REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Greece has 6 mainland regions: Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Central Greece and Peloponnesus

Epirus
Formally united with Greece in 1913, 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. Their main instrument is the clarinet. The main dances are Sta Tria, Sta Dio, Kalamatianos, Tsamikos, Zagorisios, Menousis, Koftos, Fisouni, Kentimeni Podia and Yiatros.

Macedonia
Formally united with Greece in 1913, 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. The variety is partly due to its geographical position where it borders with the Balkans. The main dances are Gaida, Leventikos, Nikolos, Akritikos, Baidouska, Partalos, Kastorianos, Omorfoula, Nizamikos, Sire Sire, Boimitsa, Antikristos and Mikri Eleni.

Thrace
with Greece in 1923. Eastern Thrace today falls in Turkey and Bulgaria. Thrace is particularly rich in dancing with a wide variation in hand holding positions. Their dances are lively and move with unity without any leadership improvisations. The instruments common to this region are the bagpipe (gaida) and the lyra. The most popular dances are Zonaradikos, Souflioutouda, Apadiasteite sto Xoro, Kastrinos, Sfarlis, Syngathistos, Podaraki, Stis Treis and Baintouska.

Thessaly
United with Greece in 1881. This is mainly fertile plains for farming. Thessaly retains a strong tradition of song-dances where the dancers sing the music, often without instrumental accompaniment . The dances are slow and controlled. The main dances are Sta Tria, Kalamatianos, Klistos, Svarniara, Karagouna, Tai-Tai and Pilioritikos.

Roumeli
Roumelian dances tend to be slow and controlled. The clarinet is the main instrument in this region. The main dances of this region are Tsamikos, Sta Tria, Mazochto and Kangeli

Peloponnesus
It was in Peloponnesus that in 1821 the struggle began to free Greece from the Ottoman rule and is thus the oldest part of modern Greece as we know it today. Their main dances are Kalamatianos, Tsakonikos and Kariatidon.