Greek dancing; so much more than the ‘Zorba’

Beloved fictional character Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy famously said ‘every savage can dance.’ It sounds harsh, but Mr Darcy was a particularly proud and snooty character, so it shouldn’t be surprising that he would throw shade on an activity that is so basic and primal. But this premise of Mr Darcy’s suggests that dance is merely movement; and that’s where I think he’s got it wrong. Dance is not movement in isolation. Dance is movement coupled with emotion, feeling, and soul. So if Mr Darcy’s ‘savage’ can indeed dance in a way that encompasses the full meaning of the word, he’s arguably not a savage at all!

Savage or otherwise, humans have been dancing through the ages all around the world. Dance has been ever-present whether in connection with religion, rituals, celebrations, or entertainment.

I myself have recently returned to my first love – Greek traditional dancing. As a child I attended Greek school on a Friday night and when Greek dancing class started, I would stand tall and proud at the start of the line. I loved to perform too. I’d beam at my parents from the stage at our end of year school functions. And then sadly, Greek dancing disappeared from my curriculum. Scholastic achievements took precedence, and years passed without so much as a few minutes spent on the dancefloor – family functions excluded.

While dancing remained a part of my life and social personality through Cuban dancing, hip hop dance classes, and the amazing stress moderator that is dancing in the dark (also described as flailing around carelessly to bangers of today and yesteryear with other like minded, fun-loving people in community halls), something was missing. I was exercising, releasing stress, and having fun, but I was keenly aware that the element of community was absent.

But now, I’ve once again reconnected with this part of myself, having been embraced by my Melbourne Greek community. Dancing together every week, learning new steps, fumbling through what sometimes feel like very intricate sequences and laughing at my mistakes and lack of coordination, has been so joyous.

However Greek dances aren’t just about fun and frivolity and the movie ‘Zorba the Greek.’ They also carry the weight of significant historical moments, of sadness and despair. Think of the deeply moving ‘Mihanikos’ dance which hails from my father’s island Kalymnos; a melancholic dance that honours all the embattled sponge divers who suffered the crippling effects of decompression sickness. And then we have the heroines of Souli who chose death over slavery, leaping euphorically over cliff edges with their babes in their arms so as to evade the brutality of life under Ottoman rule in what became known as the ‘Dance of Zalongo’.

This is why learning Greek dancing is so important to me. Greek dances aren’t just fast-paced line dances. They’re a reflection of a strong community, of history, expression, love, and of course, cultural connection. And that’s exactly why I’ll keep on dancing.