Syrtos

Music of Greece
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Ancient music Byzantine music Opera Greek musical system Greek musical instruments Greek dances Worldwide
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National anthem	"Hymn to Liberty"
Regional music
Related areas	Cyprus, Pontus, Constantinople, South Italy
Regional styles	Aegean Islands Central Greece Crete Epirus (polyphonic song) Ionian Islands Macedonia Peloponnese Thessaly Thrace

Syrtos (Greek: Συρτός, also sirtos; plural syrtoi; sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms syrto and sirto; from the Greek: σύρω, syro, "drag [the dance]"), is the collective name of a group of Greek folk dances. Syrtos, along with its relative kalamatianos, are the most popular dances throughout Greece and Cyprus, and are frequently danced by the Greek diaspora worldwide. They are very popular in social gatherings, weddings and religious festivals. Syrtos and kalamatianos use the same dance steps, but the syrtos is in 4
4 time and the kalamatianos is in 7
8 time, organized in a slow (3 beat), quick (2 beat), quick (2 beat) rhythm.

Syrtos and kalamatianos are line dances and circle dances, done with the dancers in a curving line holding hands, facing right. The dancer at the right end of the line is the leader. He may also be a solo performer, improvising showy twisting skillful moves as the rest of the line does the basic step. While he does this, the next dancer in line stops dancing and holds him up with a twisted handkerchief linking their hands, so he can turn and not fall down, as in the Antikristos. In some parts of syrtos, pairs of dancers hold a handkerchief from its two sides.

Syrtos is mentioned as a Greek traditional dance already in ancient Greece, and the word derives from the Greek verb "σύρω" (surō), "to draw, to drag". A relevant ancient Greek dance may be the "Ormos", literally "a string". Kalamatianos, syrto-kalamatianos, syrtos Kefalonias, syrtos Makedonias, geragotikos syrtos, Cretan syrtos, syrtos Ikarias, syrtos koftos, Azizies syrto, syrtos Rodou etc. are some of the most popular syrtos dances. Syrtos is one of the most liked folk dances and music in Cyprus, too. The word syrtos also, has been borrowed as sirto for some dances from the Pirin region in Bulgaria. It is easy to also observe the syrtos used in Turkish music, like syrtos Ikoniou, because Ottoman sultans enjoyed this Greek music form and composed songs in that form.

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Wikipedia