| Formation | Open circle, leader at right-hand end. V-hold. |
|---|---|
| Dance Structure | Short sequence repeated throughout the music. |
| Music Structure | 3 counts/bar (7 beats per bar), 4 bar phrases. |
| Music Speed | 110 counts/min. |
| Source | Mostly Sally Fletcher in Ipswich 1996. Extra variations from Ollie (Clyde Oliver) at his Greek SIFD day course in London 2004. |
Disclaimer: Mistakes are quite likely in the notes and no guarantees are made as to accuracy. There may be other versions of the same dance or other dances with the same name. Music may differ, particularly in speed, introduction and duration, between performers. The division into parts, bars & counts might not be standard. These notes of the dance are freely distributable (under GPL or CC-by-sa) in so much as the note's author's contribution but the choreography and/or collection were by other people and so their copyright might apply to the dance itself. Better than using notes, go to a dance class where it is taught.
This is popular & ubiquitous both in Greece and abroad.
The music, in conventional notation, has 7 beats per bar but the dance is done to 3 counts per bar, count 1 encompassing 3 beats & counts 2 & 3 encompassing 2 beats each. Therefore the rhythm is slow-quick-quick but the slow is only 1.5 times as long as the quicks not twice as long.
The first half of the sequence is virtually the dance called Sta Dhio (but with longer steps and different timing) and the whole of this dance is incorporated as steps in turn into other dances, such as Karagouna. It has essentially the same basic steps as a Syrtos but the rhythm is different.
The variation with the hops is switched to once the dance has got going to make it more lively. The other variations are at the discretion of the leader.
The basic dance, the hops variation & the hand changing Gate variation are from Sally, the other Gate variation & spiralling advice are from Ollie.
Style: Casual. Covering a lot of ground when travelling.
Summary: Facing backwards (cw) around the circle, R back, L back, R side turning to face forwards. Forwards L, R, L. R forwards, L in place, R close. L backwards, R in place, L close.
| Start | Facing 45 deg acw of the direction to the centre. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
||||||
| 2 |
|
||||||
| 3 |
|
||||||
| 4 |
|
Add a hop just before the slow steps at the start of bars 1 & 2 (and at the start of bars 3 & 4 but that is less ubiquitous). Adding the syncopated hops can be a bit tricky for people not used to this type of rhythm but one soon gets so used to it that it feels natural.
If the dance has to lead into a spiral (e.g. if the room is crowded or just for variety) then it should spiral in, not out, so that the leader is visible for following. To get out again either lead the line back in a tight hair-pin turn, lead it back via a Gate or lead it radially out under the arms of people in the outer loops.
The leader turns 90 deg acw whilst turning the next person in the line 270 deg cw under their joined arms so they are facing as a couple opposite the direction of progression of the dance on opposite sides of the line. Keep the joined arms raised and continue dancing from that position with the rest of the line passing underneath until the whole line has passed.
The gate can be done with the normal stepping or with the stepping reduced to just the travelling part (i.e. replace the steps of bars 3-4 with a repeat of bars 1-2). The former simplifies continuing the dance normally afterwards but the latter makes following around the sharp turn easier. If doing the normal stepping, get into the arch position during bars 3-4 as the line has no net movement then.
An alternative way of doing the gate is for the leader to change to holding the next person's R hand in their R hand and turn that person 90 deg acw whilst the leader turns 270 deg cw. The rest follow though as before but the leader is on the L side of the arching pair instead of the R side. After the figure, switch back to the original hold.
This version is a bit less elegant in that it needs the fudge of hold changing and has less space under the arch for line to follow though but, because the person next to the leader does not have to turn the non-obvious way, it is easier to lead.