Folkway - Kalamatianos - Dance - Folklore - Traditional Greek Dance

Kalamatianos: The most popular folkdance influence in Greek era.

The Kalamatianós is one of the best known dances of Greece. It is a popular Greek folkdance throughout Greece, Cyprus and internationally and is often performed at many social gatherings worldwide. As is the case with most Greek folk dances, it is danced in circle with a counterclockwise rotation, the dancers holding hands. It is a […]

Cretan Lyra - Folk - Traditional Musical Instruments - Folkway

Cretan Lyra: Explore the Mediterranean Mosaic through the culture of Crete.

The Cretan Lyra is a Greek pear-shaped, three-stringed bowed musical instrument, central to the traditional music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and the Aegean Archipelago, in Greece. The Cretan Lyra is considered as the most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine Lyra, an ancestor of most European bowed instruments. The Byzantine […]

Folkway - Folk - Traditional - Folklore - Ballos - Dance

Ballos: Various forms of folk dance island culture.

The Ballos dance (from the Italian ballo via Latin “ballo“) is one of the best known Greek folk island dances in Greece. There are also different versions in other Balkan countries. The Ballos is of Greek origin, with ancient Greek elements. The melody of a ballos is generally joyous and lyrical which is typical of the music of the Aegean […]

Folkway - Folk - Traditional - Folklore - Tsamiko - Dance

Tsamikos: A popular greek folk dance also known as Arvanitikos or Kleftikos.

The Tsamikos or Kleftikos is a popular traditional national folk dance of Greece, done to music of 3/4 meter. This dance is usually performed to celebrate national events like in the anniversary of the declaration of the start of Greek War of Independence in 1821. The dance follows a strict and slow tempo not emphasising on the […]

Pontiaki Lyra - Folk - Traditional Musical Instruments - Folkway

Pontiaki Lyra: Its origins lay in the Pontus region for years.

The Pontic Lyra is a 3 stringed musical instrument played primarily by those whose origins lay in the Pontus region of north eastern Turkey, those who reside in the northern parts of Greece, and also people from many other parts of the world. It is also known as the Pontian lyra, Pontic fiddle or kemenche. […]