When in Greece do as Greeks do and dance

When in Greece do as Greeks do and dance. OPA!

There's a famous proverb: when in Rome,do as the Romans do. Here on Chios Island we could say when in Greece do as Greeks do and dance.
Last Saturday we had the pleasure to attend greek dancing classes in Nenita, and of course- if was great. There are classes for kids, teenagers and adults one after another and we've gone to all of them. The difference? Well steps would get more and more complex the older the students were and also the adult dancers would taste a little wine during the break. Fantastic, right? :)

I was suprised by how many kids and teenagers are attending the classes. It's impressive that the national dances are so alive, so I've decided to do some research to understad what's up with greeks and the folk dancing? I don't know much about particular dances, to be honest, I didn't even remember the names so I've decided to rather look for the beginning of the dancing.

Apparently Greeks have been dancing forever. Even the greek philosophers have phraised dancing. Plato stated that "To sing well and to dance is to be well educated, while Aristotle added that "He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader", no wonder that their ancestors dance all the time.
And it is never late to learn- they say that Socrates was in his seventies when he learned how to dance.
Traditional Greek dancing has a primarily social function and tells a story. It was held during celebrations as one of the most ancient forms of community entertainment, it is also depicted on many ancient ceramics. Dancing have always been an indispensable part of weddings.
Dance was regarded as one of the highest forms of art. Let me quote Plato: The Dance, of all the arts, is the one that most influences the soul. Dancing is divine in its nature and is the gift of God. And people danced to show their devotion and admiration towards gods.

Traditional dance continues to be passed from generation to generation, which helps maintaining national identity. The country is one of the few in the world in which folk dancing is as popular today as it used to be in the past. From the islands of Crete to Thrace, each region has their own unique dances, some more popular than others.
Some dances were created and used in wartime to give the soldiers of Greece the confidence they needed before going out to battle. The people of Crete went to attack dancing.
Many years later other Greek folk dances have originated during the historical Turkish domination.
And how does the greek folk dancing look like? Most dances are circle or open circle dances. You start with the right foot and move counter-clockwise. Each dancer is linked by by holding hands, wrists or shoulders. You have probalby already seen it on movies like ”Zorba the Greek” for exaple (from 1964). Let me quote Zorba btw:
When my little boy Dimitri died, everybody was crying・Me, I got up and I danced. They said, "Zorba is mad." But it was the dancing ・only the dancing that stopped the pain.
I think that these words capture the essence of greek dancing.
I am a firm believer that greek folk dancing will bring us closer to understanding the culture. Hopefully :)