Greek Dances

Greek Dances

Dance performances, accompanied by traditional music, are common in the region. In the tsakonikos, the dancers wheel tightly around each other and then swing into bizarre spirals; this dance resembles the sacred dance of Delos, first performed by Theseus to mime how he escaped from the Labyrinth. The popular kalamatianos is a circular dance from Kalamata. The tsamikos, from Roumeli in central Greece, is an exclusively male dance showcasing agility and derring-do. You will see your fill of dancing at local festivals to celebrate a town or village's patron saint, usually in summer. Dancing is also part of a Greek wedding, and it's not entirely unlikely that you might attend one. The guest list usually includes the entire population of a village or section of town, and if you happen to be staying there at the time of a wedding, you may well be invited.