Greek Dancing

If you’ve ever been to a Greek wedding, chances are that you have been swept up by the massing crowd, and subsumed into a traditional Greek dance – hands over one another’s shoulders, all in a line, round and round they go, a slow cross step that speeds up until dancers are breathless and laughing and out of step…

Greek dancing is an ancient tradition that was referred to by Plato and Aristotle, who both viewed it as one of the highest forms of art and believed every educated man should know how to dance gracefully.

In fact, dance was named as one of the civilizing activities, along with wine-making and music. 

As the spiritual sustenance for its people, dance communicated collective wisdom and truth as effectively as the words of the ancient Poets.

The staunch dancing tradition prevalent among the Greeks was likely inherited from Crete which was conquered by Greece around 1500BC, and since the Greeks were known for synthesizing and making their own traditions from surrounding cultures, dance would have been taken as theirs, on the spot.

Greek mythology weaves a wonderful tale about how dance began. Before man, Titans inhabited the earth. Titan goddess Rhea wife of god Cronus, taught the art of dance to the Kouretes, sons of Earth, who dwelled on Crete and to the Corybantes who lived in Phrygia in Asia Minor.

Cronus would habitually devour his children at birth so that none would succeed him. Rhea fled to Crete to give birth to Zeus in a cave on Mt. Ida. Cronus pursued Rhea and when he confronted her she gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling which he promptly swallowed. Meanwhile Rhea placed baby Zeus in the care of the Kouretes. In order to prevent Cronus from hearing baby Zeus cry, Rhea besieged the Kouretes to dance wildly while beating their swords and shields. For this favour Rhea honoured the Kouretes by making them priests of Zeus and their descendants carried on their dances are rituals.

Learning to dance was considered a necessary rite of passage for the classical Greeks. Moreover, education of the youth favoured learning an appreciation of beauty, aesthetics, movement and the human form.

Dancing in classical Greece was closely connected with religion: the dances of the Chorus at Sparta and in other Doric states were connected with the worship of Apollo.

To today’s Greek dancing, it pays to know the basics. Beginners should always join at the back of the line. You will see experienced dancers break into the middle of a line. There are two reasons for doing this. One is to dance next to friends who are already in the line. The second reason that experienced dancers will break into the middle of the line is so they don’t have to trip over beginners who don’t know the steps. So if you don’t know the steps, go to the back.

Sometimes, if the line is long, you end up opposite the leader at the other end of the circle and it’s hard to follow the steps because you are looking at them backwards. If it’s crowded, you might not be able to see the leader through the crowd of other dancers. Go behind the leader for a few minutes to practice the steps before joining the end of the line.

Greece is one of the few countries in the world where traditional dances are as alive today as they were in classical times. In fact, there are around 4,000 different dances across the country. Until recently, men and women rarely danced together, although the two groups danced at the same time.

Christianity put the reins on the development of dance in Greece. Dance performances were banned. The current folk traditions eventually returned to Greece by way of the Ionian islands which were ruled by Italy.

And to the modern world where dance is part and parcel of every Greek wedding. Dance is a way to communicate when words fail. Ancient Greeks believed that dance was divinely inspired. Plato said that dance arose from the natural desire of the young to move their bodies and express emotion, especially that of joy – or hara, thus the Greek word for dance – horos. So go enjoy the horos and express all that hara inside of you! OPAH!