Opa! I love the wonderful, joyful, vibrant dances of the Greeks. And to me, Syrtaki is the quintessential Greek dance, with the traditional instrumentation and the tempo changes.

Hasapiko is a very popular Greek dance. The basic hasapiko step finds its way into many Greek dances, including the one above.

My hands-down favorite Greek folk dance is Oniero Demeno, characterized by the hasapiko step (the basic step in the video above):

Another sweet dance that features the hasapiko step is Little Miss Greece. These dancers are some of my friends from Phoenix International Folk Dancers.

There are many Greek dances called Tsamikos. This is different from the Tsamikos PIFD does, but I especially like this video because the male dancers wear the traditional Greek men’s costume.

This version of Gerakina is a little different than our group does it, but it’s a very nice student performance. The lyrics of the song tell a traditional Greek story. Gerakina is a beautiful young woman who is a sought-after potential bride. Death was jealous of her and was determined to claim her. One day Gerafina went to the well for water, but lost her balance and fell in, her bracelets jingling on the way down. She cried for help, and a young man jumped in to save her, but their lifeless bodies had to be extracted by the villagers.

Tik is danced very close.

Thiakos alternates between two different patterns with distinct meters.

There are many Greek dances called Syrtos. Here is a basic one.

Syrtos Kitrinou has a hauntingly beautiful melody. The dance consists of a basic step and two variations.