Greek Feeling Language & Culture | Traditional Dance Epirus

Epirus Dances

Epirus is a large historical and geographical region of Western Greece with the largest cities being Ioannina, Arta and Preveza. Epirus is also home to the famous Zagorochoria, a picturesque cluster of numerous villages, most of which have been declared traditional settlements due to the traditional "Zagoritic" architecture in which stone and wood predominate.

It is the most mountainous region of Greece, since most of it is covered by the Pindos mountain range. Its history is lost in the depths of the centuries, as there are traces of human activity in Epirus dating back to the Paleolithic era.

During the period of Ottoman rule it flourished, with great events, such as the great war of Ali Pasha with the Souliotes, the successive revolutions against the Ottoman yoke, etc

The brave and unsubmissive history of the Epirotes, combined with the wild mountain life, naturally influences their life and character and this is evident in every manifestation of social life.

Their determination, their spirit and their endless appetite for life, movement and freedom are expressed in all their songs and dances.

Music and dance are an integral part of Epirus culture, even in everyday life, and by studying them one can get to know better the local culture, the habits and structure of the community, as well as numerous folklore elements.

The participation of all residents in social events and especially in dance events symbolizes but also strengthens their unity and teamwork.

In the past, while dancing, everyone had his place in the circle, determined by his social status (priests and municipal rulers went first), age (the oldest were the first in the circle) and gender (men were the first to dance and then the women of the village in a separate circle).

Only in villages of a higher educational level and in later times was it allowed for men and women to mix in the same circle. In fact, often the participation of a single girl in dances meant that she had reached the age of marriage and was ready to accept proposals, while often the dance was a criterion for the choice of the groom - a phenomenon found all over the world!

In general, the traditional dances of Epirus are danced in an "open circle", with few exceptions.

They are characterized by restrained movements of the dancers, except for the lead dancer who occasionally performed acrobatic jumps according to the dance.

The way the dance is performed also differs between men and women. Women have shorter and more collected steps, with the whole foot, and have no lifts, jumps, squats and of course no rocking of the body.

In addition, women often danced with their heads bowed as a sign of modesty, and improvisation and deviation from the basic steps were forbidden.

For the male dancers, on the contrary, there was more freedom of movement, there was a margin of tension in the movement, of long steps, lifts and jumps, while the hands were allowed to make movements, especially for the first dancer.

The musical tradition of Epirus is a huge capital and one of the greatest cultural treasures of Greece, which will be discussed in detail in another section.

The basic musical instruments of the Epirus song are the clarinet and the violin.

They are accompanied by the tambourine and the lute, which give rhythm to the song and dance.

Sirtos is a type of Greek traditional dance with origins in ancient Greece. The word "sirtos" comes from the ancient Greek word "siro" i.e. drag, the dance in two senses: the first drags the second, the second drags the third, etc., but also because the steps are dragged on the earth.
The rhythm of the Sirtos is slow and the step is simple and easy. That is why it is the basic type of Greek dance. The Sirto dances are danced in an open circle, i.e. there is the first and the last dancer in the circle and they are danced mixed i.e. by both men and women.

Sirto sta 3/Sirto at 3

The slow pace and simple steps make it easy and popular with everyone.

The "sirtos at three" is a dance with simple steps and slow tempo that can be danced only with song, without the accompaniment of musical instruments. It is a Panhellenic dance that is danced all over mainland Greece and with different names in different places, e.g. in Thessaly, Western Macedonia and Central Greece it is called "Vlachiko", but it is basically considered a typical dance of Epirus.

It is a dance of an open circle with a dance direction counterclockwise (↶), the connection - grasping of the hands is done with a dance grip of the w-shape from the palms with the hands up and the elbows bent. When the dance started a woman would have her hand down or at her waist and not up.