Photo courtesy of www.folkdance.tk/
Being of Greek descent on my Mom's side of the family, I grew up listening and dancing to Greek music. I would attend all the festivals and events around the bay area which featured live Greek music. I learned how to dance a few different dances by just participating and following the other dancers. Greek dancing is traditionally performed as a line dance though there are newer variations on older themes. At church festivals you can always find traditional costumes as are worn in Greece for special occasions.
Greek music is definitely not for everyone, however I absolutely love it and when I hear it, it almost puts me into a trance, especially when dancing. It is also a fantastic means of getting some aerobic exercise. Some of these dances are very tiring and you have to have alot of stamina in which to endure the entire dance. I haven't done it in a while so I don't know that I could finish all of the dances but they certainly are alot of fun.
There are Greek festivals held all year long within the Bay Area to celebrate special events. That's one thing about us Greeks, we love to eat, drink and dance so any excuse to celebrate and we're out there.
I hope to attend at least one festival this year so I can bring you some local celebrations.
Enjoy!
