HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sirtaki or syrtaki ( el, συρτάκι) is a
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
of
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
origin, choreographed for the 1964 film ''
Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...
''. It is a recent Greek folkdance, and a mixture of "
syrtos Syrtos ( el, συρτός, ''syrtos'' (also ''sirtos''); plural , ''syrtoi'' (also ''sirtoi''); sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms ''syrto'' (also ''sirto''); from the el, links=no, σύρω, ''syro'' (also ''siro''), ...
" and the slow and fast rhythms of the
hasapiko The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's
ance Ance may refer to: * Ance (given name), a feminine given name * Ance, Latvia * Ance, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Ance (; Gascon: ''Ansa'') is a former commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. O ...
) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greeks, Greek butchers' g ...
dance. The dance and the accompanying music by
Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He Film score, scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek (film) ...
are also called Zorba's dance, the Zorba or "the dance of Zorba". The dance has become popular in Greece and one that is identified with the Greeks. The name ''sirtaki'' comes from the Greek word
syrtos Syrtos ( el, συρτός, ''syrtos'' (also ''sirtos''); plural , ''syrtoi'' (also ''sirtoi''); sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms ''syrto'' (also ''sirto''); from the el, links=no, σύρω, ''syro'' (also ''siro''), ...
– from σύρω (τον χορό), which means "drag (the dance)" or "lead (the dance)" – a common name for a group of traditional Greek dances of so-called "dragging" style, as opposed to
pidikhtos Pidikhtos ( el, πηδηχτός), is a Greek folk dance with Cretan origin, dancing in a circle formation. It is very widespread in Crete and the Greek islands. See also *Music of Greece *Greek dances Greek dance (''choros'') is a very old t ...
(πηδηχτός), a hopping or leaping style. Despite its name, sirtaki incorporates both syrtos (in its slower part) and pidikhtós (in its faster part) elements.


Choreography

The dance was created specifically for the film ''
Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...
'' rather than a traditional form of dance. The name ''sirtaki'' suggests it was created based on a traditional
Cretan Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
dance form "
syrtos Syrtos ( el, συρτός, ''syrtos'' (also ''sirtos''); plural , ''syrtoi'' (also ''sirtoi''); sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms ''syrto'' (also ''sirto''); from the el, links=no, σύρω, ''syro'' (also ''siro''), ...
", a type of dance where the dancers drag their feet instead of hopping, however, the dance incorporates both a slower
hasapiko The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's
ance Ance may refer to: * Ance (given name), a feminine given name * Ance, Latvia * Ance, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Ance (; Gascon: ''Ansa'') is a former commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. O ...
) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greeks, Greek butchers' g ...
dance style, and a faster
hasaposerviko The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's ance) is a Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greek butchers' guild, which adopted it fr ...
style. The dance is therefore an amalgamation of three different dance styles. It also has some characteristics of the
zeybek dance The zeybek is a Turkish folk dance particular to much of Anatolia, named after the Zeybeks and related to the Greek dance zeibekiko. The dance is hierarchic, with a group of companions performing it while wearing a particular decorative costume a ...
. The choreography of the dance for the film has been attributed to
Giorgos Provias Giorgos Provias ( gr, Γιώργος Προβιάς) is a Greek dancer, actor and choreographer, the creator of the staple Greek "folk" dance Sirtaki. Work Credited"Arhipseftaros" 1971, credited as dance coach('' I Only Love You''), 1970, dance ...
, Vassilis Yakoumis or Yiannis Mastoridis, but some of these attributions are doubtful. During the filming of ''
Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...
'', Stelios Katsivelakis taught choreography to Anthony Quinn, including various Greek dances such as the ''
Kalamatianos The Kalamatianós ( el, Καλαματιανός) is one of the best known dances of Greece. It is a popular Greek folkdance throughout Greece, Cyprus and internationally and is often performed at many social gatherings worldwide. As is the ca ...
'', ''Chaniotikos syrtos'' (
syrtos Syrtos ( el, συρτός, ''syrtos'' (also ''sirtos''); plural , ''syrtoi'' (also ''sirtoi''); sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms ''syrto'' (also ''sirto''); from the el, links=no, σύρω, ''syro'' (also ''siro''), ...
of
Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...
), ''
pentozali The Pentozali or Pentozalis ( el, Πεντοζάλης) is the trademark folk dance of the island of Crete. It takes its name from the fifth (''pente'') attempt or step (ζάλος being a Cretan Greek word for "step") of the Cretan people to li ...
'' with the ''psalidia'' (scissor-like) movements, and ''
hasapiko The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's
ance Ance may refer to: * Ance (given name), a feminine given name * Ance, Latvia * Ance, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Ance (; Gascon: ''Ansa'') is a former commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. O ...
) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greeks, Greek butchers' g ...
''. The ''
zeibekiko Zeibekiko ( el, Ζεϊμπέκικο, ) is a Greek folk dance. Origin and history It takes its name from the Zeybeks, an irregular militia living in the Aegean Region of the Ottoman Empire from late 17th to early 20th centuries. It was firs ...
'' was initially omitted, as the director felt it was not a suitable dance for a non-Greek and that the ''hasapiko'' looked better on screen. Quinn claimed that because he had problem doing a hopping motion due to a broken foot, he invented the dragging-sliding dance steps that he said a villager taught him, as well as coming up with its name on the fly when the film was being shot. Quinn could not perform the fast part of choreography planned for the final scene by the choreographer, and the choreography had to be changed on the spot. It is also claimed that this is the reason for having a crane shot moving away from the protagonists at the end of the film. The dance was named Sirtaki at the first screening of the film.


Performance

Sirtaki can be danced in a
line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...
or
circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
formation with hands held on neighbours' shoulders. When performed alone, the dancer raises his arms horizontally on both sides of the body. Parts of the leg movements may be suggestive of crushing of grapes.
Meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
is , tempo increasing, and often the signature is changed to 2/4 in the fastest part. Accordingly, the dance begins with slower, smoother actions, gradually transforming into faster, vivid ones, often including hops and leaps.


Guinness World Records

On September 16, 2007, the world's longest chain of sirtaki dancers danced to the music of "Zorba the Greek" in Cyprus. The chain had a total of 268 members of eight groups dancing in step to "Zorbas". Ayia Napa Town Mayor Antonis Tsokkos said the aim of the event was to send the message that the village was interested in Greek culture and to promote the tourist resort abroad. Head of the cultural services of the Municipality Maria Tofini said that, according to Guinness World Records, the dancers had to perform in synchronized step for the attempt to qualify. The event drew the attention of tourists and locals, many of whom danced to "Zorbas" on the beach and in the sea. On August 31, 2012, the Sirtaki Dance Guinness World Record was broken by 5,614 people dancing sirtaki for five minutes by the sea, starting from the port of the city of
Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
in Greece. The Association for Social Impact and Culture to the Municipality of Magnisia organized the event on the main beach of the town of Volos under the light of the second full moon of the month. Some 5,614 people, aged from 14 to 89, danced to the music of Mikis Theodorakis' Zorba the Greek, filling the town square and making it into the Guinness World Records. Enthusiasts from Volos, Larisa, Athens, Thessaloniki, Trikala, and the Greek islands joined the regional union of blind people, the national synchronized swimming team and many ordinary citizens. The idea came from a Volos resident, Alexia Halvatzakou, who suggested it to the municipal services as an alternative way to promote the area. The President of the Association for Social Impact and Culture, Costas Halevas, liked the idea and set about organizing the event.


See also


References

{{Authority control Greek dances Group dances Greek words and phrases