by Janette Waldron

Created on: June 21, 2010

Folk dancing is a wonderful social activity. You get to meet other people who have the same interests as you. But it is imperative to always give thought to what you are doing and how your behaviour will affect others. Dance etiquette is simple, it is based on consideration, courtesy and respect to all other dancers. If this is the very first time you will be venturing out on the floor to enjoy some Greek folk dancing, you may be wondering how to join the line and what type of dance etiquette applies. You don’t wish to infringe on other’s fun nor do you wish to get run over. Greek folk dancing is energetic, fast and furious at times. Some dances are very easy to learn while other are far more complex with very a variety of variations.

Greek dancing is wonderful to watch and to be a part of, but it certainly helps to know a few basic rules beforehand. Many Greek dances are performed solo while some are performed as couples, but almost all dances are danced in a line. The general direction of the line is to the right. You will no doubt notice a person on the end of the line with their right hand free. This is the person everyone follows, he/she is the leader. With the numerous steps involved in most Greek folk dancing and the many variations, most dances have no specific order. Therefore the leader usually calls out the steps with hand signals. If you watch the leader you will know what steps will be performed next.. When the leader is not giving hand signals you will need to watch what their feet are doing.

Now because Greek dancing can be so fast, the very first rule to remember is that you should never attempt to join the line from the right end. This is the beginning of the line and you will interfere with the leader’s position. At times you will notice that the leader will offer someone else the chance to lead the dance. But you do not tale the position of the lead unless you have been invited to do so. Therefore you must join the line from the back. Some experienced dancers break into the middle of the line. You may wonder why they do this. There are two reasons for this. Sometimes they simply wish to dance beside friends. Other times they do this so that they are not infringing on the comfort of beginners or risking being tripped over by them.

 If you are new to Greek folk dancing you must join at the back. Never try breaking the line while you are a novice, it certainly won’t be appreciated. The line can often become so long

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