Dances in ancient Greece

Tanets - rhythmic, expressive gestures, usually lined up in a certain composition and performed with musical accompaniment. At all times, dance was an integral part of the life of people and of life as a whole. He accompanied man in joy and in sorrow, creating the mood that was necessary. Naturally, dances in antiquity were very different from modern choreography. But it is worth noting that attention to them in ancient times was paid no less than today. For example, in ancient Greece, the dance was considered a real priceless gift from the gods. Ancient Greek dance compositions embodied the unity of physical and mental beauty, regardless of the era . With the help of such na to the accompaniment of a beautiful melody, people could touch the Divine for even a moment. The man of antiquity very strictly felt the harmony of the earthly and the Divine and tried to find it in himself and in the surrounding world.

The combination of special hand movements and a rhythmic step created an antique dance. The choreography of ancient Greece was distinguished by a rather strict observance of the rhythm , which gave fantastic “correctness” to all the action and created an inimitable spectacle. Almost everyone knew how to dance in ancient Greece , because the curriculum in schools provided for an obligatory dancing lesson. The concept of ancient Greek dance was the beauty, harmony and elegance of each movement. Each of the pas must express the feelings and real emotions of the dancer.

In ancient Greece, the dances were quite diverse and had very different meanings - from simple and banal to semantic and serious. All the existing two hundred choreographic productions can be divided into five conditional groups, namely: civil, stage, home, ceremonial and sacred. The latter were mainly dedicated to Athena , Aphrodite and Dionysus . The most prominent representative of civilian dances was pyrrhic (pyrrhios), that is, a military dance with a weapon that imitated various combat techniques.

Military Dances

They were used not for fun, but to foster a sense of duty, fighting spirit that was necessary in battles. Military dances were distinguished by rather complex performances and a rich variety of movements. Among other things, such actions often used various objects: spears, swords, darts, torches, shields, bows, etc.

Stage Dances

Ancient Greek stage dances, which were separately created for each genre of theatrical performances, differed in particular intricacy and eccentricity. Such a dance was based on the creation of a special tact that was kicked off with the help of special wooden or iron sandals. Complementing the entire choreographic setting was castanets made from oyster shells, which were put on the middle fingers.