Greek Dance

Greek dance is a very old tradition, being referred to by ancient 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 formed its own choreography and style to fit in with their own ways. For example, island dances have more of a "watery" flow to them, while Pontic dancing closer to Black Sea, is very sharp.
There are over 4000 traditional dances that come from all regions of Greece. There are also Pan Hellenic dances, which have been adopted throughout the Greek world. These include the tsamiko, syrtos, and kalamatianos.
Traditional Greek dancing has a primarily social function. It brings the community together at key points of the year, such as Easter, the grape harvest or patronal festivals; and at key points in the lives of individuals and families, such as weddings. For this reason, tradition frequently dictates a strict order in the arrangement of the dancers, for example, by age. Visitors tempted to join in a celebration should be careful not to violate these arrangements, in which the prestige of the individual villagers may be embodied.
Greek dances are performed often in diaspora Greek communities, and among international folk dance groups.

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This was an event that took place in Federation Square. The dance was rather exhausting by this group of dancers. They perspired and they struggled to breathe.
The day was rather harsh with sun light that olympus 150mm f2 does not seem to adapt to the high contrast scenes too well. Quite a few images were prone to the clipping as the result of this type of lighting setting.

Posted by roentarre Monday, December 8, 2008 at 9:46 PM

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