Sirtaki

Sirtaki (Sirt�ki, or Syrt�ki) is a popular dance of Greek origin. However despite the widespread belief it is not an authentic traditional Greek dance. In fact, it was created in 1964 for the movie Zorba the Greek from the mixture of slow and fast versions of Hasapiko Has�pikos, Chas�pikos) dance. The dance and the music (by M�kis Theodorakis) are also called Zorb�'s dance or Zorbas. Sometimes one can see the name "the dance of Zorbas", because originally the name of the movie was "Al�xis Zorb�s".

A distinctive feature of the Sirtaki dance and music is its speeding up.

The name Sirt�ki comes from the Greek word syrtos, a common name for a group of traditional Greek dances of so-called "dragging" or "shuffling" style (as opposed to pidikhtos, which is hopping or leaping style. Despite that, Sirtaki incorporates both syrtos (in its slower part) and pidikht�s (in its faster part) elements.

Now Sirt�ki is one of cultural attractions of Greece (and Greek-style taverns all over the world).

Choreography

Sirt�ki is danced in a line or circle formation with hands held on neighbors' shoulders. Line formation is more traditional.

Meter is 4/4, tempo increasing, and often the signature is changed to 2/4 in the fastest part. Accordingly, the dance begins with slower, smoother actions, gradually transfroming into faster, vivid ones, often incuding hops and leaps.

Primitive step patterns, for small children and beginners

The steps are the same for slow an fast parts.

To do

More complex steps

Steps for slow an fasted parts differ.

To do