Traditional & Modern Greek Dances
Below you will find information on some of the dances we dance!
Click on the Tsarouxi
to find you how to dance each dance!
Click on the camera
to see a picture of each dance!
Dance "How-To" introductory materials.
Chiotiko
Chiotiko is a simple folk dance from an island in the northeastern
Aegean Sea named Chios (sometimes spelled Khios or Hios
in English)
Delphi
Delphi is a slow Hassapiko dance
that our teacher, the late Maxine Myer, learned at Delphi, where the Oracle
was located and the spot that the ancient Greeks considered the center of
the universe. It is danced to Natane to 21 (It was 1821, the year
of the Greek Revolutionary War).
E Trata This dance originated in eastern Megara, on mainland Greece west of Athens. We refer to this as the "fishing net" dance. The steps alternate between "pulling in the nets" and "weaving the nets." Anna Efstathiou of Oakland taught this to us in 1983.
Haniotiko This is a Cretan syrto from the town of Hania (Chania), in western Crete. Anna Efstathiou taught us this dance at her seminar in October 1983.
Hassapiko
Hassapiko is a very popular, relatively modern Greek dance, danced
to many lovely melodies. It is referred to as a panhellenic dance, which
means that it is danced all over Greece. It is often seen in Greek tavernas.
Hassaposerviko This is sometimes called a "fast Hassapiko." It is a lively dance using a shoulder hold.
Ikariotiko Dances
As the name implies, these are dances from the Island of Ikaria.
We have learned three separate dances from this area, all quite different.
Kalamatiano See Syrto.
Karagouna
This dance comes from the plains of Thessaly. Most Greek folk dances
are danced in single lines; Karagouna is unusual in that it is a flirtatious
couples' dance; in our choreography, the men dance in a line behind the
women's line. In the days before dating, young people might meet and dance
in the village square after church, to get acquainted.
Karsilima This is a couple dance, danced face-to-face. Couple dances are quite rare in Greek folk dancing.
Kastrinos
Kastrinos is danced in Heraklion on the island of Crete; that town
used to be called Kastro. Anna Efstathiou taught us this dance at her
seminar in October 1983.
Kostantakis This dance technically is a Zagorissios, that is, a dance from the Zagori, which are mountainous villages north of Ioannia on the Greek mainland. These isolated villages have remained virtually unchanged throughout the centuries, and their dances are unique. This is a stately, masculine dance, with strong, slow, and deliberate movements.
Kotchari
Kotchari is a very vigorous (and difficult) Pontic dance.
"Kotch" means "heel" in the Pontic dialect. Several of the dance figures
feature dancers landing on their heels after a jump. The Pontic people
were Greeks who colonized outside Greece in the Black Sea area during
Turkish rule. Many later returned to the area north of Thessaloniki. We
learned this dance from Anna Efstathiou in February 1983.
Kritiko Syrto
Kritiko Syrto means Syrto from Crete. There are many variations to
the dance; every village does it slightly differently. The choreography
we use for performances has been developed for a specific piece of Cretan
music.
Laziko
Laziko is a vigorous Pontic dance, originally from an area near the
Black Sea that no longer is part of Greece. In our choreography the men
dance in one line and the women in two lines, forming a "C" shaped line.
Some of the steps are different for the men than for the women. We
learned this from Anna Efstathiou in February 1983.
Lefkaditiko
Lefkaditiko alternates between a slow, stately step and a very fast
step. This dance originated on the island of Lefkada.
Lorke-Lorke This is an Armenian dance we learned from Anna Efstathiou in 1987. The song starts out with the words Ginega, Ginega, which translates as Woman, Woman. The Greek word for woman is very similar, gyneka.
Menousis
This is a rarely seen dance from the mountains of Epiros.
Misirlou
This is an American Greek folk dance, much more familiar in this
country than in Greece. However, it is based on steps used in Cretan
syrtos, and is danced to Greek music that has especially sensuous rhythm.
This
off page link will
tell you more than you probably ever wanted to know about the Misirlou music!
Never on Sunday
This music probably was the first introduction to Greek music for
most Americans, when used as the theme for the 1960 Melina Mercouri movie
Never on Sunday.
Pentozali This very vigorous dance was used to help keep the Cretan soldiers in shape. Orchestras often play Kritiko Syrto and Pentozali back-to-back.
Pogonissios
This dance is from an area in northern Greece called Pogoni. The
dance alternates between a slow step that features knee bends and arms
aloft and a faster syrto step. This is another dance from Anna Efstathiou's
February 1983 seminar.
Sweet Girl Sweet Girl is an Armenian dance popular in California. It is a typical Armenian line dance, in an open circle. Hands are joined with the little fingers interlocked and held at shoulder height. Its repetitive nature makes it an especially relaxing, meditative dance.
Syrto
The syrto is the most popular dance throughout Greece, and is danced
by Greek-Americans at all festive gatherings. Syrto and kalamatiano
use the same dance steps, but the syrto is in 3/4 time and the
kalamatiano is in 7/8 time.
Syrto Kefallinias
This dance is from the island of Kefallinia in the Ionian Sea.
Although most of the Greek islands originally were under the control of
the Ottoman Turks, Kefallinia was ruled by the Venetians for several
centuries. Thus this dance has a springy, almost Italian quality.
This is a dance we learned from Ted Sofias in 1988.
Syrto Pyleas
This dance is from a village in Macedonia called Pyleas. This
is another dance Anna Efstathiou taught in February 1983. We call one
of the variations "arm aloft," as dancers raise their arms rhythmically
over their heads and back down again.
Tamsara
This is an Armenian dance that can be danced to various pieces of
music. Here we dance it to a Greek song called Rampee-Rampee.
We learned this version from Maxine Myer.
Thessaloniki
This soulful Hassapiko, written and played by the music group
Zig-Zag, has been choreographed by Pat Bates especially for the
Greek Village Dancers. Styling is quite different from other
Hassapikoi done by the group. It was first performed in public at
the Monterey Greek Festival on September 4, 1999.
Tsamiko
Tsamiko is an ancient warrior dance, in which the leader would
perform energetic leaps. Today it is danced by both men and women all
over Greece and the United States.
Zagorissios This is a typical dance from the Zagori, which are mountainous villages north of Ioannia on the Greek mainland. This slow, stately dance is similar to Kostantakis, but is danced to different music and with different variations.
Zonoradiko
We have learned four versions of this dance from northern Greece,
and perform two of them. In one, taught to us by Anna Efstathiou in
1985, dancers form two opposing lines. Another, taught to us by Ted
Sofias in 1988, features a running step that really moves the line around.
Zonoradiko means dance of the belt, and sometimes these are danced while
holding on to the next person's belt.. We use a basket hold for the
versions we perform, since not all of our costumes have belts!. The
dance originally was done by men wearing baggy pants called Vrakas.
This influenced the styling of the basic step.
Zorba
This is a Syrtaki dance, starting out with a very slow
Hassapiko
step then growing faster and faster - ending in a lively
Hassaposerviko.
This dance is choreographed for performance with the most popular piece
of Greek music in this country, the theme from the movie Zorba the Greek,
written by the noted Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis.
