Greek Dances in Byzantine times

[Prokomenos]

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"The most important characteristic of the Greek dance is its intimate relationship to the phrasings of the words which accompany it..."

BYZANTIUM

Although Greece fell under the Roman Empire, the Romans soon realized the superiority of the Greek civilization. Greek philosophers, artists, pedagogues were hired by the wealthier Romans to educate and entertain them. Dancers were also pressed into the service of Rome. However, due to the different culture and character of the Romans, dance lost its educational value and degenerated to a pure entertaining element. In order to appeal to a wider audience for which the Greek language was totally incomprehensible, the dance got separated from the song that usually accompanied it in the Hellenic world. It ended up being mostly pantomime which became the symbol of the Roman Age. At the beginning, pantomime was drawing its subjects from the Greek mythology, but as time went by, it relied more on acrobatics, risqué jokes and lewd gestures. This situation continued with the transfer of the Roman Empire capital to Constantinople. The dancers/mimes were considered of low social status. Because of their questionable lifestyle, the Church condemned dance and started a war against dancers and dance, in general.

However, people continued to dance. Actually, the fact that the Church continually felt obliged to condemn dance is in itself a proof that people carried on dancing despite their preachings and pronouncements. Indeed, it would have been very difficult for the Church to turn against dance with any hope of success, since this was an integral part of private and public ceremonies and feasts.

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There were more and more converts into Christianity from religions where dancing was central to worship. Rather than expect these converts to stop dancing at the moment that they were baptized, the church fathers found ways to "baptize" dance by refining and spiritualizing it, just as they had found ways to give a Christian interpretation to pre-Christian myths and symbols. The dances that won the approval of the church fathers were group dances, typically processions or circles in which men, separated from women, performed solemn decorous movements "in the fear of God". However, the information on dancing at this period is very scarce. Actually, since the byzantine art is mainly ecclesiastical, the references to dance are rare. Some images from the byzantine and meta-byzantine dances have been saved on sculptures, miniatures, manuscripts but mainly church murals in between religious subjects.
In his book "Life and Culture of the Byzantines", Phaidon Koukoules has assembled all known references to dance in texts of that time. From his writings, we learn that there were women’s dances on Easter, nocturnal satyrical dances in disguise on the Kalendes, dances by itinerant bands of young men on the Roussalia. There were certainly dances at weddings, in taverns and in banquets. The wealthy invited professional harpists and youths and maidens to dance, being especially appreciated for their bodily agility and deft footwork. Dance spectacles staged in the theater in the accompaniment of flute and quitar are also mentioned.

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In Constantinople, important events were celebrated with large public dances. On the return of the victorious byzantine army, for instance, the citizens thronged the streets, danced with the soldiers and shouted in jubilation. There are instances recorded of people dancing inside the church, on Easter and Christmas, after Patriarch Theophylactos had granted his permission. Other times they danced and sang extemporized songs, making fun of the emperor. The soldiers danced as part of their drill and danced after maneuvers for amusement. The charioteers danced in the Hippodrome when they won their races and, the sailors danced an unmanly dance, full of twists and turns, as if imitating the spirals of the labyrinth.

Though we have so few descriptions of byzantine dances, we know that they were often "intertwined". The leader of the dance was called the koryphaios or chorolektes and it was he who began the song and made sure that the circle was maintained. Efstathios of Thessaloniki mentions a dance which commenced in a circle and ended with the dancers facing one another. When not dancing in a circle the dancers held their hands high or waved them to left and right. They held cymbals (very like the zilia of today) or a kerchief in their hands and their movements were emphasized by their long sleeves. As they danced, they sang, either set songs or extemporized ones, sometimes in unison, sometimes in refrain, repeating the verse sung by the lead dancer. The onlookers joined in, clapping the rhythm or singing. Professional singers, often the musicians themselves, composed lyrics to suit the occasion.
Byzantine instruments included the guitar, single, double or multiple flute, sistrum, timpani (drum), psaltirio, Sirigs, lyre, cymbals, keras and kanonaki.

Popular dances of this period were: Syrtos, Geranos, Mantilia, Saximos, Pyrichios, Kordakas, etc. Some of these dances had originated in the ancient times and they are still danced in some forms even today!

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TURKISH OCCUPATION

Even though available knowledge is limited, we may presume that dance continued to evolve uninterrupted, fulfilling the social needs of the Greek villagers. An analogy may be sought in the maintenance of the language: though the Greeks lived alongside other people under Ottoman rule, they continued to speak Greek, and so it was with their dances which preserved their distinctiveness.
T
he dances of Ottoman-ruled Greece are described in the accounts of contemporary European travellers, many of whom stopped here en route to the Holy Land. Their impressions and observations, which were invariably published upon returning home, are usually imbued with an air of romanticism and a touch of the exotic. As far as Greece was concerned, comparison with ancient Greeks was inevitable and runs through virtually every paragraph. These testimonies should be treated with circumspection, since some travellers were not averse to drawing on their imagination to complete their accounts with things they did not actually see, while others had no scruples in copying the accounts of previous visitors. Those who did not speak Greek were apt to rely on the badly translated replies of the first person they chanced upon. Even so, the observations of these intrepid voyagers are an invaluable source of information about this period.

Names of dances referenced or described in detail in the texts are Kritikos, Hellenikos, Arnaoutikos, Vlachikos, Pyrrhichios, Ionikos. Some of these names are probably the invention of the writers in their attempt to classify the dances they had seen, since it is highly unlikely that Greeks would call one of their dances Hellenikos. In addition, the name Pyrrhichios may be attributed to voyagers who had read about the ancient dance and tried to recognize similarities and continuity with the ancient world.
During this time of the Turkish occupation, new dances are created to praise and commemorate the heroism of the Greeks and their desire for independence and freedom.

Examples of such dances are the following:

Kaggeleftos

It is a historic dance commemorating the revolution of Chalkidiki against Turks during the Turkish occupation. According to the tradition, the Greek revolutionaries were caught, led to the center of the village, and commanded to form a chain holding each other. While they were passing in front of the Turks, they were beheaded one-by-one.

Makrinitsa or Krinitsa
According to the tradition, this was danced during the Independence War by the women who, in order to avoid captivity, had cast themselves over the waterfalls of Naousa, singing and dancing as they did so. Krinitsa was the name of the woman who was leading them.

Dance of Zaloggos
This dance commemorates a similar episode in Zaloggos in Epirus.

Enteka (Skorpios)
The Turkish authorities seem to have ordered the Greek coffee-shops and taverns to close down at 11:00 at night. So, while the men were going home, they were singing and dancing a free-style dance, which took its name from the time of the day that they were doing it!

Carnival Dances
Certain Carnival dances are also associated with the War of Independence, such as the Boules in Naousa. During the revolutionary struggle, the warriors used to come down from the mountains to the city of Naousa, at night all through Carnival. Thus, disguised as mascaraders, they could slip past the Authorities unobserved, and in this way they could communicate with their relatives and friends.


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[Ellinas]

Thanks for the article Prokomenos. What is also notable is that Hasapiko dance originates from the Byzantine era, when it was danced in the buthchers guilds and that's where it took its name from. Did you know? :)

[Prokomenos]

Originally Posted by Ellinas
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Thanks for the article Prokomenos. What is also notable is that Hasapiko dance originates from the Byzantine era, when it was danced in the buthchers guilds and that's where it took its name from. Did you know? :)

I had no clue thanks for the info re.