Zonaradiko ( el, Ζωναράδικος) is a traditional Greek
folk dance from
Thrace (Greece)
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
that is named after the dance's
handhold. Dancers hold the adjacent dancer's ''zonaria'' (
belt
Belt may refer to:
Apparel
* Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist
* Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports
* Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practit ...
) during the dance. Zonaradiko is a village
line dance
A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight, ...
done in one form or another all over Greece. In each village the dance will look somewhat different, but the basic structure is essentially the same. The same dance is done in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
under the name
Pravo Pravo horo ( bg, Право хоро, lit=straight dance) is a very popular, simple folk dance from Bulgaria that is done throughout the Balkan countries. In Greece it is called Zonaradiko. It is considered the "national dance" of Bulgaria, Albani ...
.
The variations below are a collection of steps commonly done by folk dancers throughout the US and as seen done by various groups in Greece.
Many variations of the dance exist. In northern Thrace, zonaradikos turns into a fast
tsestos
Tsestos ( el, τσέστος, ), is a challenging dance from Northern Greece (the region named Thrace or in Greek language Thraki. The dance starts with a moderate rhythm and is danced by both men and women with very few figure (this is an intro da ...
. In western Thrace, the dance is led by the males, and the females follow towards the end of the line. As the dance nears the end, the first dancer moves to the centre and the others twist around him, then they "untwist" and go back to their normal positions.
Mixed lines of men and women, holding belts. The leader is on the right. When the tsestos portion starts, either the entire line does the tsestos steps, or those doing the tsestos steps form a new belt-hold line inside (towards the center) of the original line. Traditionally, some or all of the men would leave the line and the women would either stop and watch or continue the pravo around the men's line. The entire dance is done with the knees bent. This position is especially evident in the tsestos.
Songs like Lianohortarouthyia (Λιανοχορταρούδια), Steryios Pismanipsi (Στέργιος Πισμάνιψι), and Vasilkouda (Βασιλκούδα) are all zonaradika.
See also
*
Greek music
The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its History of Greece, history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek folk music, Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originat ...
*
Greek dances
Greek dance (''choros'') is a very old tradition, being referred to by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. There are different styles and interpretations from all of the islands and surrounding mainland areas. Each region form ...
References
External links
Zωναράδικος Θράκης - Γιάννης Κατέβας (Zonaradiko Thrace - Yiannis Katevas, YouTube) (live)
Greek dances
Line dances
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