Greek Belly Dance

Parent Category: Class Description

Category: Level 1 (Beginner) Choreographies

Greek Belly Dance

After many years of dancing at Turkish restaurants, our dancers currently (2019) are dancing at a Greek restaurant. In this course, Schadia will share with you the intricates of the greek way of belly dance. Opa!!!

Tsifteteli is the name for the Greek Bellydance. This name comes from the Turkish word Chifteteli, which translates to “two strings”. There is a long history of belly dance in the Greek culture due to various reasons. For one, being a direct neighbor of Turkey, there are a lof of cross influences between the two cultures. Greece also has a lot of islands, and the greek people are historically a seafaring nation. They traveled and were visited by other nations such as Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, all countries with a long history of belly dance.

Modern Tsifteteli songs can be very cheerful and funny, even have texts that make no sense some times, but they can also be sad. The music is resembling more and the modern Arabian music. That’s why it is convenient to dance also the Arabian Raks Sharqi on modern Tsifteteli music.

Today Greeks dance Tsifteteli almost everywhere: At folklore feasts, in Night Clubs, in Bouzoukia Clubs (Greek style Night Clubs), at private parties, at weddings and so on.
It is seldom though, that Tsifteteli is performed by a dancer. There are very few places (mainly some Bouzoukia Clubs and some tourist restaurants) were Tsifteteli is performed by a dancer and in most of those cases the dancer dances not the common Tsifteteli but either Arabic Raks Sharqi (on Tsifteteli music) or American style belly dancing.

(Source http://www.chryssanthi.com/en/01ba1695820370601.html,  by Chryssanthi Sahar Scharf)