Dodecanese

Δωδεκάνησα

14 dances · 96 from the archive

Arkistis Αρκηστής Face to face, men only, in pairs.
Zervos of Karpathos Ζερβός Καρπάθου 2/4 · Open circle, mixed, with a crossed hold; it moves to the left ("zerva").
Isios of Kalymnos Ίσιος Καλύμνου 2/4 · Open circle, mixed, with arms crossed in a basket-weave hold; only the leader improvises.
Kalamatianos Καλαματιανός 7/8 · Open circle, mixed, hands joined at shoulder height with elbows bent; the leader often holds the second dancer by a handkerchief and improvises.

Each Dodecanese island has its own music and dance tradition: violin and laouto on Rhodes, Kalymnos and Leros, lyra, tsampouna bagpipe and laouto on Karpathos and Kasos. The sousta, lively and bouncing in 2/4, is danced almost everywhere in local variants, alongside dances such as the isios and michanikos of Kalymnos and the lerikos of Leros. On Karpathos dancing is part of the glenti with its improvised couplets, moving from the slow kato choros to the fast pano choros.

Dodecanese

Sub-areas

From here

Also danced here

From the archive 96

Sources