-Katley
My approach to folk dance is one of flexibility. I find that too many people focus on one choreography whereas I focus more on "feeling the music" and letting it take you where you want to go. The basic choreography is a guide, the variations are like frosting on a cake. There is room for creativity in folk dance, and different "villages" have their variations on a basic theme.
Today's dance is Tai Tai from the Greek region of Thessaly, usually performed around Easter.
Video #1 is the version done by recreational folk dancers.
The music is haunting and beautiful, sung by a female chorus and accompanied by a clarinet. This dance has two parts: part one with a front basket hold (slow) and the second part with step hops, pas de basques (crossovers) and raised hands.
Video #2 is the Greek version. The melody is the same, although the music has a definitely different quality, with a male singer and a lower octave on the clarinet.
The choreography is different than the previous video. The first figure resembles a slow Pravo Horo (three steps forward and one to the side); the second figure looks like Sta Tria, the Greek version of Lesnoto. The dancers also do turns and swings into the middle of the circle.
If you enjoyed this you may also like:
Fun and Easy Folk Dances from Greece
Tai Tai reminds me of another Greek dance: Paraliakos.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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