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Music of the Peloponnese is the music of the geographic and historical region of Peloponnese. Folk dances from Peloponnese, include the basic form of syrtos music and its alternative kinds. The most common dances of Peloponnese are:
Mantineia was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history.
Antikristos or Antikrystós is a dance of Greek origin. “Aντικρυστός” in Greek language refers to the verb αντικρύζω “be across, opposite, face-to-face”. It is also known in Armenia. Antikristos has similarities with the karsilamas dance. It is danced in couples.
Kochari is a folk dance originating in the Armenian Highlands. It is performed today by Armenians, while variants are performed by Assyrians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, and Pontic Greeks. It is a form of circle dance.
The Pentozali or Pentozalis is the trademark folk dance of the island of Crete. It takes its name from the fifth (pente) attempt or step of the Cretan people to liberate Crete from the Ottoman Empire. It can thus be translated as "five-steps". The name also contains an element of wordplay, as ‘ζάλη’ means dizziness, and so it may also be interpreted as a dance that can make its dancers dizzy five times over ("five-dizzy"). In fact the dance has ten steps in total.
Ikariotikos or Kariotikos is a traditional dance and accompanying song originating in Ikaria a Greek island in the North Eastern Aegean Sea. Some specialists say that the traditional Ikariotikos was slow and the quick "version" of it, is a Ballos. The name Kariotikos is mostly used by the locals of Ikaria.
The Omal was one of the first Pontic Greek folk dances to be developed from the region of Pontos. In the Pontic language, omal means "regular" or "smooth." It is a relaxed dance and is danced for long periods of time, usually preluding the tik dance. There are many different melodies for different songs; one of the most famous songs is Serranda Mila Kokkina. The step count is step-2-3-4, step-2. It is danced hand by hand.
Greek traditional music includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apart from the common music found generally in Greece, each region of Greece contains a distinct type of folk music that originated from the region due to their history, traditions and cultural influences.
Tsestos, is a challenging dance from Northern Greece (the region named Thrace or in Greek language Thraki. The dance starts with a moderate rhythm and is danced by both men and women with very few figure (this is an intro dance named dousko, the steps are the same with the dance zonaradiko. As it goes on, men come in front and they catch each other by the zonari. At this point the dance becomes very quick and it consists of figures only.
Greek dance (choros) is a very old tradition, being referred to by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. There are different styles and interpretations from all of the islands and surrounding mainland areas. Each region formed its own choreography and style to fit in with their own ways. For example, island dances have more of a different smooth flow to them, while Pontic dancing closer to the Black Sea, is very sharp. There are over 10,000 traditional dances that come from all regions of Greece. There are also pan-Hellenic dances, which have been adopted throughout the Greek world. These include specifically the Syrtos, Kalamatianos, Pyrrhichios, Ballos and hasapiko.
The Tsakonikos or Tsakonikos horos is a dance performed in the Peloponnese in Greece. It comes from the region, chiefly in Arcadia, known as Tsakonia. It is danced in many towns and villages there with little variation to the steps.
Tamzara is a folk dance native to Armenian Highlands. It is today performed by Armenians, Assyrians, Azerbaijanis, and Greeks.
Kalamatianó is a type of Greek folk music associated with a dance sharing its name. Originating in the southern Greek port city of Kalamata, its most recognizable feature is its asymmetrical time signature of 7
8 time, meaning that there are seven beats per measure, generally subdivided into two groups of 3 and 4 beats respectively.
Loulovikos is a male dance from Megara Attikis, Greece. It is danced to a song with the same name. The song lyrics refer to Loulouvikos which took away the young men from the village. The song pleads with Loulouvikos to bring the young men back.
Syrtos is – in classical and modern Greece – a traditional dance in which the dancers link hands to form a chain or circle, headed by a leader who intermittently breaks away to perform improvised steps.
Fantezi is a Turkish classical music genre composed in Turkish pop music in accordance with the tradition of the Turkish people. Also called folk song or urban folk music, in its plural form is a Turkish music genre which has taken many forms over the years. Fantezi followed after the commercialization of Turkish classical music and Kanto music. It was strong dominated by Turkish folk music. When used in context, it refers mostly to the form it took in the period from the 1920s to the 1980s. It is a vocal works emerged in 20th century, in free style, and usually having several part, each part composed in different tempo or method.
Monodiplos is a traditional dance from the area of Messenia in the Peloponnese. The dance is typically a Kalamatiano dance with two variations. There is a single step and a double step back variation that occurs in the dance. The song typically used in this dance is "Stin Apano Geitonia". This is cited in Evangelos Lambpropoulos research called "Horoi apo Messiniaki Gis" (2009) in Greek, Dances of Messenia.
Music of Thessaly is the music of the geographic and historical region of Thessaly in Greece. Folk dances from Thessaly are slow and stately, however the music accompanying the Syrtos dance, is typically livelier and more energetic than it is in other parts of Greece and include: Kalamatianos, Thessalikos, Dionysiakos, koftos, Sirtaki, Kalamatiano, Syrtos, kleistos, kangeli, gaitanaki, tsamikos, Pilioritikos, Svarniara, Sta tria, Karagouna, Kleistos, zeibekiko, Rougatsiarikos, Tsamiko of Deskati, antikrystos and galanogalani.
Gaitanaki is a form of a Greek folk dance from Thessaly, Greece. It is a circle dance. It is also very widespread in Epirus.
Kerkiraikos, also called Rouga and Perdika, is a form of a Greek folk dance from the island of Corfu. The dance consist of 12 steps and has many similarities with the Greek dance Kalamatianos.
Greek folklore is the folk tradition that has developed among the Greek people in and outside Greece over the centuries. Similarly to other European folklore, it includes pre-Christian pagan folklore and elements of ancient Greek mythology and folklore which developed from the Indo-European religion and the local Pelasgian mythology, along with Christian myths and legends that developed during the Hellenistic, Roman and Medieval periods. It also shares elements with the folklore of Balkan countries such as Albanian folklore and Serbian mythology as well as Anatolian folklore.