Saturday, October 8, 2011

I've been teaching these wonderful dances I learned while I was in Greece:
  • Sofka: This lively, flowing dance is from Greek Macedonia.
  • Zaramo: Every festival I went to on my trip featured this simple dance from Greek Macedonia, with a basic pattern in 2/4 rhythm and lots of variations called by the leader.
  • Hora Samson: This popular Pontic dance is done in the classic flat-footed style with double bounces that travel up through the shoulders.
  • Paiduska: Greece has a whole tradition of paidusko-style dances in 5/8 rhythm; this one, from Thrace, has an unusual 11-measure phrasing.
  • Dipat: Dances from many regions of Greece are done in 9/8 rhythm; this one is Pontic, with a three-measure phrase, and is wonderfully hypnotic.
  • Pontic Halay: The beautiful song for this simple, very slow halay talks about how the Pontic people were exiled from their homes by the Black Sea, and how they yearn to return.
  • Zagarios: This dance from Epirus is done in 9/8 rhythm.
  • Tsamiko Konitsa: This beautiful, flowing six-measure tsamiko in 3/4 rhythm is also from Epirus. 
You can click on and watch great versions of Dipat, Tsamiko Konitsa, and Sofka in the Dance Videos section of this blog.