Folk Dances as a Happening of Coming Together in the Streets of Athens
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2298/GEI2403031BKeywords:
outdoor dance, traditional folk dances, Klidonas, International Bagpipe Day, neighborhoodAbstract
The focus of this work, based on my long-term field research in Athens, is the use of open urban spaces (parks, parking lots, and streets) as a gathering place for citizens to practice traditional folk dances.1 The research focuses on dance events organized by informal groups of citizens, not by institutions. Results show that there is a significant presence of folk dances in the streets and parks of Athens. The paper gives special attention to the periodic dance gatherings on the occasion of the Klidonas holiday (June 23/24), International Bagpipe Day (March 10) and Tsampounoglenti in honour of Saint Demetrius (October 26). The paper especially analyzes various aspects of these dance activities, their role in the lives of the participants and at the level of the wider social community. The participants themselves emphasize the importance of folk dances in overcoming alienation, establishing interpersonal connections, and strengthening neighborly relations.
Downloads
References
Blagojević, Gordana. 2009. “Belgrade Breakdance Girl: Breaking Gender-Specific Stereotypes with Dance.“ GEI SANU, LVII (2): 19–24.
Blagojević, Gordana. 2011. “From media on street and vice versa: hip hop dance in Belgrade today.” In Proceedings of the Second Symposium by the ICTM Study Group for Music and Dance in Southeastern Europe held in Izmir, Turkey 7–11 April 2010. Eds. Elsie Ivancich Dunin, Mehmet Öcal Özbilgin, 139–146. Izmir: Ege University’s State Turkish Music Conservatory and ICTM Study Group for Music and Dance in Southeastern Europe.
Bosić, Mila 1996. Godišnji običaji Srba u Vojvodini. Novi Sad – Sremska Mitrovica: Muzej Vojvodine – Prometej – Vojvođanska banka – Monada.
Burger, Birgitta, Marc R. Thompson, Suvi Saarikallio, Geoff Luck, Petri Toiviainen. 2013. “Oh happy dance: Emotion recognition in dance movement.“ In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Music and Emotion. Eds. Geoff Luck, O. Brabant, 183– 194. Jyväskylä, Finland: University of Jyväskylä.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2006.
Frazer, James George. 1913. The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion. Part VII. Balder the Beautiful. The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul. Vol. 1. London: Macmillan and Co.
Hortulanus, Roelof P., Anja Machielse & Ludwien Meeuwesen. 2006. Social Isolation in Modern Society. London: Routledge.
International Bagpipe Organisation. 2022. Accessed 11 May, 2022 https://www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com/international-bagpipe-day.html
Levy, Fran J. 2005. Dance movement therapy: A healing art (2nd ed.). Reston, VA: National Dance Association: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.
Loukatos, Dimitris. 1992. „O Ai Giannis o Klidonas i Lampadaris”. Ta kalokairina, 2i ekd. Athina: Filippoti.
Loutzaki Rena. 1985. O paradosiakos xoros stin Ellada. Thessaloniki: Philoxenia.
Megas, Georgios A. 1963. Ellinikai eortai kai ethima tis laikis latreias. Athinai: idiotiki ekdosi.
Nedeljković, Mile. 1990. Godišnji običaji u Srba, Beograd: Vuk Karadžić.
Petrović, Petar Ž. 1970. „Ivanjdan“. U Srpski mitološki rečnik. Prir. Š. Kulišić, P. Ž. Petrović, N. Pantelić, 209-211. Beograd: Preduzeće Nolit.
Propp, Vladimir J. 1963. Ruskie agrarnye prazdniki. Leningrad: Leningradskogo universiteta.
Raftis, Alkis. 1995. Egkyklopaideia tou ellinikou chorou. Athina: Theatro Ellinikon Xoron „Dora Stratou“.
Simpson, Jacqueline. 1987. European Mythology. London: The Hamlyn Publishing Group.
Stratou, Dora N. 1979. Ellinikoi paradosiakoi choroi. Athina: Organismos ekdoseos didaktikon vivlion.
Trojanović, Sima. 1930. Vatra u običajima i životu srpskog naroda. SEZ. Beograd: Srpska kraljevska akademija.
Tyrovola, Vasiliki K. 2001. O Ellinikos Choros. Mia Diaforetiki Proseggisi. Athina: Gutenberg.
Turner, Victor. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Antistructure. Chicago: Aldin Publishing Company.
Turner, Victor W. 1974. Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press
Van Dyck, Edith, Burger, Brigitta, Orlandatou, Konstantina 2017. “The Communication of Emotions in Dance“. In The Routledge Companion to Embodied Music Interaction. M. Lesaffre, P.-J. Maes, & M. Leman (Eds.), 122–130. Routledge https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315621364-14
Varvounis, Manolis. 2000. „O Klidonas“. Laografika dokimia. Meletimata gia ton Elliniko paradosiako politismo. Athina: ekd. Kastaniotis.
Vinogradova, L.N. & Svetlana M.. 2001. „Ivanjdan“. Slovenska mitologija. Enciklopedijski rečnik, prir. Svetlana M. Tolstoj, Ljubinko Radneković, 219 – 220. Beograd: Zepter Book World.
Wang, Lanye. 2022. “The Intervention of Anxiety Symptoms by Using Improvisational Chinese Classical Dance“. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 10: 28–35. doi: 10.4236/jss.2022.109003.
Zečević, Slobodan. 1970. „Motivi naših narodnih verovanja o letnjoj solsticiji“. GEM 33: 39-30.
Zografou, Magdalini. 1991. Eisagogi ston Elliniko laiko xoro. Athina: Symmetria.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 ГЛАСНИК ЕТНОГРАФСКОГ ИНСТИТУТА САНУ
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
