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Music of Greece
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Ancient music Byzantine music Opera Greek musical system Greek musical instruments Greek dances Worldwide
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Church music (Byzantine) Classical music Ionian school National school Greek folk Laïko Rock Hip hop Punk Neo kyma
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v t e

Zeibekiko (Greek: Ζεϊμπέκικο, IPA: [zei̯ˈbeciko]) is a Greek folk dance, similar to Turkish Zeybek dance.

Origin and history

It takes its name from the Zeybeks, an irregular militia living in the Aegean Region of the Ottoman Empire from late 17th to early 20th centuries. It was first seen at the end of the 17th century in cities such as Constantinople and Smyrna. Evliya Çelebi mentions in his writings that it was danced in Magnesia and in Aydın at local feasts. Originally a dance for two armed people facing one another, it developed into an improvised dance for a single male.

After the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1922, the dance became popular also in mainland Greece, in many songs of Laiko music.

Characteristics

The Zeibekiko usually has a rhythmic pattern of
₄ or else
₈. It is most commonly broken down as:

or as:

As a solo dance, it was traditionally performed by men, though it is now common for women to dance the Zeibekiko. Due to the movements of the dancer, it is sometimes known as the "eagle dance". The dance has no set steps, only certain figures and a circular movement. It takes place in an area little surpassing one square metre and mostly consists of improvised movements.

Occasionally dancers perform feats such as standing on a glass of wine or a chair or fireplace, or picking up a table, adding a sense of a little braggadocio and humor.

See also

• Antikristos
• Bouzouki
• Greek dances
• Hasapiko
• List of dances
• Rebetiko
• Kamilierikos
• Zeibekiko of Evdokia
• Zeibeks
• Zeybek dance

References

1. Chrysopoulos, Philip (4 April 2016). "Greek and Turkish Folk Dances With Common Origins, Still Popular Today". Greek Reporter.
2. Babiniotis, Georgios D. (2002). Lexiko Tis Neas Ellinikis Glossas (2nd ed.). Athens: Kentro Lexikologias. p. 707. ISBN 960-86190-1-7.
3. Πάλλης, Α. (1941). Σελίδες της παλιάς γενιτσάρικης Τουρκίας. Athens: Εκάτη. p. 231.
4. Tyrovola, V. (1994). "The evolutionary process of the dynamics of popular urban culture: The case of Zeibekiko dance". Proceedings of the 17th Symposium of the Study Group of Ethnoarchaeology: 107–113.
5. Kilpatrick, David. "Ethnomusicology", Vol. 6, No. 3, Canadian Issue (Sep., 1972), p. 577.
6. Wichmann, Anna (22 July 2022). "When Women Started Dancing Zeibekiko".
7. McGinnis, Maura (2004). Greece : a primary source cultural guide (1st ed.). New York: Rosen Pub. Group. ISBN 978-0823939992.
8. Holst, Gail (1994). Road to rembetika : music of a Greek sub-culture : songs of love, sorrow, and hashish (Reprinted with amendments 1994. ed.). Athens: D. Harvey. p. 268. ISBN 978-9607120076.
9. Many authors. Ζεϊμπέκικος. Pandect: The World of Greek Dance (in Greek). Retrieved 19 June 2013.

• Greek dances