Dance has played an important role in the life of Greeks all through their history. In the ancient Greek societies, dance was held in high regard. In fact, in his writings, Plato expresses his belief in the virtue of dancing, by saying that a man who cannot dance is uneducated and unrefined. In the Byzantine times, despite the church guidelines, people were dancing in personal or public feasts. During the Turkish occupation, they continued to dance and they also created and passed down to us new dances praising the heroism of the fighters and their desire for independence and freedom, such as the dance of Zaloggos.

In Greece, today, traditional dances are still passed from generation to generation because people enjoy doing them and include them in their celebrations. There are some dances that are considered panhellenic, such as Kalamatianos and Tsamikos, and are known among all Greek communities in Greece and abroad. In addition, each region has preserved its own dances, which are done, in local feasts. Some of these not widely known local dances are at risk to become forgotten, but fortunately, there are systematic efforts of local organizations to encourage older people to pass their talent and knowledge to the youngsters.

There is an abundance of references to dancing at different times of the Greek history. These references are found mostly in texts or various representations on pottery, sculptures, church murals, etc. However, this information is disjoint. And although, researchers believe that there is enough knowledge on dancing at different times, the question of the continuity in dancing, as in all aspects of our everyday life, is an open subject. Many researchers believe that the traditional dances of today are the same ones that Homer describes in his epic poems and are painted on church murals of the Byzantine times among saints and angels.

There are many similarities among Greek dances of different times: the way hands are held, the way the body is kept straight, the dancing formations followed by the dancers, the handkerchiefs and other objects the dancers carry while dancing. Dancing is a live expression of the human life, and as a live expression, has a higher probability of being easily carried over from generation to generation. However, other researchers argue that these same elements that many consider Greek can be observed in the dancing traditions of other people, especially those who live close by, in the Balkans and in the Mediterranean countries.

The following two examples show continuity of dancing formations and rhythms from ancient times to our days.

The first example refers to the story of Theseus who killed the Minotaur at the labyrinth of Knossos. On his way back to Athens, Theseus stopped at Delos where he offered sacrifice to the gods for having saved him. During the sacrifice, he danced a dance with serpentine movements which represented his tortuous path through the maze and the tight ring in which the fight with the Minotaur took place. This is the dance of the labyrinth or Geranos (Geranos, Crane), as it is known in the ancient texts. Historians put this myth at the time of the power of the Minoan civilization that is more than 3000 years ago.

Furthermore he wrought a green, like that which Daedalus once made in Cnossus for lovely Ariadne. Hereon there danced youths and maidens whom all would woo, with their hands on one another’s wrists. ... sometimes they would dance deftly in a ring with merry twinkling feet..., and sometimes they would go all in line with one another… There was a bard also to sing to them and play his lyre, while two tumblers went about performing in the midst of them when the man struck up with his tune. (Homer. The Iliad. book xviii.)

Some researchers consider the dance Tsakonikos, which is done nowadays in Peloponnesus, the continuation of the ancient Geranos. Other researchers claim that winding patterns are very common in the dances of many people. However, in most other regions these dances and formations are associated with the snake. In the Greek world, however, these dances are associated with Theseus and the labyrinth.

In fact, Dora Stratou, a pioneer in the study of Greek folk dances, discovered a similar dance in Crete, which was called “dance of Theseus” at the beginning of this century. Today, it is called Siganos (Siganos, Slow) and it is a wedding dance, led by the groom, who thereby learns how to get out of the labyrinth of life. Dora Stratou mentions another dance with winding formations in Paros, which is still called Ageranos today, a name similar to Geranos of the ancient Greeks.

Strong evidence on the continuity of our musical and dancing tradition can also be found in the rhythm of our traditional songs and dances. The rhythm of Kalamatianos (7/8) can be traced back to the choral parts of the tragedies of Aeschylus. This rhythm cannot be found in the traditional music of other people, except for some Balkan dances, where it is still recognized as being borrowed from the Greek world.

Today, Greece is probably one of the very few places in Europe and the New World where traditional dance is still alive, intertwined with our daily life. In some other countries, mostly Eastern European, traditional dance has kept only those folkloric elements, which had some entertaining value, became accentuated with elements of ballet, and has turned to a theatrical spectacle. In other countries, particularly in Western Europe, folk dance is preserved as a museum piece, only.

Tag: Greek Dancing