Greek Dances

Greece’s historical dances have been around for thousands of years. Dance was once considered one of the best ways to exercise, even for the military. The Greek danced for almost every occasion. The dances are usually in a line or circle, with one person leading and everyone else following. Steps are called by the lead dancer, who does so using hand signals. Intricacies of the dances are usually determined by region, but there are a few basic dances that everyone uses.

If you’re going to a Greek festival, dancing is a must. It is a great way to mingle with people you haven’t been introduced to, since doing so outside of a dancing situation can include a lot of family and friends you didn’t want to deal with. Traditionally, men and women danced in different lines, but modern dance lines now have both genders.

If you’ve never danced a Greek dance before, most festivals have a few dances reserved for teaching beginners the basics. Since there is a strict hierarchy at a lot of social dances, beginners generally join the end of the line. It could be rude or discourteous to people participating in the event if you jump in front of them in the line. You have to watch the hand signals of the leader closely in order to know what steps to take, and sometimes this can get tricky. If you stumble through some if it, it won’t be so noticeable, as long as you don’t step on anybody else’s feet.