Re: here's one for you

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 13:48:05 GMT, "Mary Jacobs"
<mary@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>My teacher is looking for firstly the correct name and then some traditional
>music for a famous Greek piece, which is recognisable from the first 2
>notes, it is a dance, men holding each others shoulders and dipping, may
>have been used in Zorbo the Greek (not sure)

What you describe is a circle dance (using a shoulder hold), known as
an hora in Romania and Israel, but I think it's horos in Greece.
The Syrtos is considered the national dance of Greece. It is danced
by all Greeks everywhere in one form or another. The name, Syrtos,
comes from a word that means dragging or pulling, and this name more
properly applies to the dance when it is done with a smooth, flowing
style.
The Kalamatianos has the same basic step or footwork, but it is often
more bouncy and leaping in character.
The main difference between the two is the meter, musicians always
refer to the melodies in 2/4 or 4/4 meter as Syrta, and the melodies
in 7/8 meter as Kalamatiana. The music also tells the dancer how to
dance: some music demands smooth, dragging steps, while other music
demands high leaping steps.
Syrtos: 4/4 meter: 4/8, 2/8, 2/8 (counted as LONG, SHORT, SHORT or
1+, 2, 3)
Kalamatianos: 7/8 meter: 3/8, 2/8, 2/8 (counted as LONG, SHORT, SHORT
or 1+, 2, 3)

I'm guessing that between Syrtos and Kalmatianos you are looking for
Syrtos.

--
Dave
Upper Texas Gulf Coast USA
1979 Yamaha FG-365S & 2003 Yamaha YRS-24B
and a Kay banjo & a Feadóg Irish whistle
.

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