Sirtaki (from the Greek. Συρτάκι - touch) is a popular dance created in 1964 for the film “ Greek Zorba ”. It is not a folk Greek dance, but it is a combination of slow and fast versions of hasapiko , an ancient warrior dance. The Sirtaki dance, as well as the music for it, written by the Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis , is sometimes called the “Dance of Zorba”. The choreographer of the film and, in particular, the dance of Zorba and Basil in the final scene, was Yorgos Provias .
After the release of the film on the screen, Sirtaki became the most popular Greek dance in the world and one of the symbols of Greece .
Content
Creation History
In his memoirs, the American Anthony Quinn , who played the title role in the movie “ Greek Zorb ”, recalls that the final scene in which Alexis Zorba teaches Basil on the beach to dance was to be shot on the last day. However, the day before Quinn broke his leg. When shooting was resumed a few days later, Quinn could do without a cast, but he was not able to jump in the dance, as the script required.
Movie director Michalis Kakoyannis was upset, but Quinn reassured him.
And I was dancing. I could not lift my leg and lower it - the pain was unbearable - but I realized that I could drag it without much discomfort. Thus, I came up with a dance with an unusual sliding-pulling step. I stretched my arms, as in traditional Greek dances, and shuffled along the sand.
Subsequently, Cacoyannis asked him the name of this dance. Quinn answered:
This is sirtaki. Folk dance. I was taught by one of the locals. [one]
Origin of title
According to Quinn, he coined the name of the dance; perhaps in consonance with the name of an existing Cretan dance. "Sirtaki" is a diminutive form of the Greek word " Sirtos ", which is the common name for several Cretan folk dances. Syrtos is often contrasted with another Cretan dance style - pidihtos , which includes elements with jumps and jumps. Sirtaki contains elements of sirtos in the slow part and pidihtos in the fast part.
Choreography
Sirtaki dance, standing in a line or, more rarely, standing in a circle, and putting his hands on the shoulders of neighbors. The meter is 4/4, the pace is increasing, and often in the fast part of the dance the meter changes by 2/4. Sirtaki begins with slow, smooth movements, gradually turning into faster and sharper, often including jumps and jumps.
Guinness World Record
On August 31, 2012 in the town of Volos , the region of Thessaly , Greece , the record was set, which entered the Guinness Book of Records , on the most numerous dance of sirtaki. The local municipality prepared for this record for almost a month, and it was planned to line up 6,400 people, but only 5164 were officially registered. At night, the volunteers danced the Zorba dance on the waterfront for 5 minutes, breaking the previous record recorded in Cyprus in 2010 (1,672 participants) , almost 4 times.
In Peru
In Peru , the sirtaki melody can evoke different emotions among different people, as it is associated with the videotape of the meeting of the leaders of the left-wing organization Radiant Way . On this recording, the organization’s leader, Abimael Guzman , dressed in a Mao -style costume, dances Sirtaki with his comrades [2] [3] .
Notes
- ↑ Jeremy Arnold. "Zorba the Greek" (Eng.) . The appeal date is April 23, 2009.
- ↑ Robin Kirk. Shining Path Is Gaining in Peru (English) // The Nation. - 1991. - No. 16 - P. 552-556 .
- ↑ Los gobiernos y el gonflicto armado interno (3): Alberto Fujimori (sp.) (Inaccessible link - history ) . Jose Alejandro Godoy (February 3, 2005). - On the seizure of the film on which Guzman dances sirtaki. The appeal date is August 7, 2009.
Links
- An excerpt from the movie "Greek Zorba" on YouTube