Balkan folk dance music downloads

Bazarkana is an easy dance from Epirus in Greece.

Chala Chala is simple dance from the Matsouka region. The song is from the Michalis Kaliontzidis CD of songs from Pontos.

Daliana is a Karagouniko women's dance in Tsamiko rhythm. The same song is use by other inhabitants of Thesslia to dance Tsamiko.

The Karagounides, literaly black cloaks in Turco-Greek and Serbian, refers to the black cloaks worn by the Vlachs of Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and northern Greece. Some of these Vlachs migrated to Hercegovina and Dalmatia, where they became known as Morovlah, meaning sea or coastal Vlach. The ones that stayed in Thessaly became farmers and their dances are characterized by a steady, pulsating rhythm.

Despo is a lovely Sarakatsani women's dance from Greece.

Dimitroula (also: Tis Dimitroulas) is from Roumlouki (“Christian Province” in Turkish), an area in Greek Macedonia famous for its women dances.

I kor Epigen so Parhar ("A girl went to the field") is one of the songs we use for dancing Dipat. In some places, the song is known as "Romana", and the singers improvise words.

The music has a 9/8 rhythm with a 2 3 2 2 structure. Dipat is danced to it on a 2 2 2 3 rhythm, making it hard to know when to start the dance.

One way is to count 1, 2 (quick-slow) and start dancing on the THIRD beat. Another way is to start dancing on the "pi" in "epigen"; if you practice starting with the vocals, eventually you will be able to "feel" when to start with the instrumental.

Most traditional dances can be danced to a number of different recordings. This song, Ela Ela Leose, by a Turkish singer, is one of our favorite versions for Dipat.

Etere is a dance from the Trapzon region of Pontos. It is often played together with Kalon Korits. The singer is Yorgoulis Lafazanidis, kemenche by Mihalis Kaliontzidis, and the song is from one of the 4 Vasipap CDs they did together.

Gaitanaki Rodou is a cute dance from the Dodecanese Islands in Greece.

This Halay is from the Ak Dag Maten region in western Pontos.

This Greek dance, from Ikaria in the Aegean Islands, is one of my favorites.

Isvoros is woman's dance from Chalkidiki in Macedonia. The music is an a cappella song is sung by Vasiliki.

A syrtos from the Asia Minor.

Kalon Korits ("good girl") is from the south Trapzon and Matsouka regions in Pontos.

Katsa is a Sarakatsani dance for men and women. The men and women dance separately, with different styles.

A characteristic island dance, Kavodoritiko is from the Greek island Evia on Aegean sea.

A great version of Kotsari, a Pontian dance from Greece.

Kuluriastos is a Greek dance from Thraki (Thrace). It has a slower Zonoradikos part, and a faster part where the beginning of the line loops into the center and back out again. It's a lot of fun to dance this, especially if you are near the beginning of the line.

As with many Greek dances, it can be danced to many songs. This one is Pses idia st'oniro mu.

This Levendikos is from Florina, in Greek Macedonia. The Levendiko, from the region of Florina in Greek Macedonia, is also called Lytos in Greek, but the original name and the most commonly heard in the Florina region is the Macedonian (slavic) name Puscheno.

Outstanding music for this Greek dance from Crete.

Militsa is a Pontian dance from Greece. The arm work in this dance makes it much harder than it looks. Great music!

One of my favorites, Pidihtos Rodhos is a Greek dance from Rhodes, one of the Dodecanese Islands.

Plataniotiko Nero Syrtos, a Greek island dance from Samos in the Aegean Islands.

I'd like to repeat our appeal from last week to help Pepi Baftirovski, a well-known Macedonian singer who is gravely ill and in need of funds - see below.

Send checks payable to "Pepi Baftirovski" to Balkanske Igre, PO Box 1157, Chicago, IL 60690, or contact us for information on how to pay online.

Pusteno (also: Poustseno) is a Macedonian dance from the Levendikos / Bajrace family. Pusteno is from the Kastoria/Kostur region of Greek Macedonia but is considered a Macedonian dance by most folk dancers. This background information was provided by Joe Graziosi:

In the Florina region the Puscheno/Pushteno a/lk/a Levendikos or Litos are the same dance. The Levendiko is also called Lytos in Greek, but the original name and the most commonly heard in the Florina region is the Macedonian (slavic) name Puscheno.

There are numerous tunes for the dance, both instrumental and sung. Within the Florina region the term Beranche or Beratche refers usually to a tune or style of Puscheno, often slower or heavier, so it can also be called Teshko or even Starsko. This last name, meaning old, is often employed as a term of respect for the older generation who would more often lead the dance.

The steps are the same except in the Albanian Christian (Arvanites) villages of the region (e.g. Flambouron/Negovani) where the Beratche or Beratis is a two measure dance based on the motif of a Sta Dhio step. The inhabitants of the villages Alona/ Armnesko, Akritas/Buf and Kratero/Rakovo have the reputation of being among the best dancers for the Puscheno.

In the village of Alona/ Armensko it can refer to a seperate melody (called Gherondikos in Greek), which starts quite slow and evolves into a Puscheno. Among the Florina population which is of Albanian origin (as in the village Flambouro/Negovani) the Beratche, etc. is danced differently - here with a two measure phrase. The usual three measure phrase Puscheno which is also danced by them, is considered a Macedonian dance while their two measure Beratche they consider their own.

Also, in the region of Lake Prespa the Puscheno is danced differently than the rest of Florina. Here, the dance starts with a full weighted step on the right foot whereas elsewhere it starts with a lift of touch of the right foot on the same beat, making for a very different feel. A close listen to most Puscheno or Beratche recordings from Greek Macedonia will show that the most common meter is 16/8 - 2223223; sometimes it can be heard in a meter of 15 or 17; more rarely in 12 - but in each case the grouped pulses are the same: slower, quick.slow, quick.

The further south one goes, towards and beyond Kastoria/Kostur, the more the three measure dance is replaced by a two measure dance, but here the dance starts with a full weighted step on the first beat of each measure (e.g. Zhensko Bairatche), whereas in the Greco-Albanian villages of Florina, the first beat starts with a lift or touch. Local variants also exist in the Vlach village of Vlasti/Blatse and among the Greek villages of Voion (e.g.,the dance Lontzia) in Kozani County.

Rantile is a Zonaradiko Tsesto: the music starts out slow for Zonaradiko and then accelerates into a Tsesto.

Rododachtilos is a Greek dance from Asia Minor. We learned it from our seminar in Turkey with Christos Theologos.

Sampson is a Greek Pontian dance.

Sfarlis is beginner's dance from the Thraki (Thracian) region in Greece.

A wonderful version of Pentozalis, one of the best known dances from Crete. The dance starts out with slow steps, and then moves to the fast part with intricate steps and many variations.

Sta Dyo is a Greek dance from Epirus.

This is a recording of the song Pera, Ston Pera Machala by Vasiliki. It was recorded during a dance seminar in Greece with Kyriakos Moisidis. We dance Sta Tria to it.

Also known as Omali, in the Kerasounta/Giresun region, this dance is called Syrto, Karshilidiko Omal, Lakhana (after the name of the song, which means cabbage), Kerasountaiko or Kotsikton Omal. It is a 9/8 rhythm and bears no resemblance to what we usually call Syrto, which is usually either a 7/8 (kalamatiano) or 8/8 rhythm. In this case, the name most likely refers to the style, what we call dragging dances.

Syrtos is a panhellenic dance, danced all over Greece. There are hundreds of melodies for this dance, but this one is one of our favorites.

This Syrtos is from the island of Chios in Greece, near the Turkish coast. It's a couple's dance with steps and style characteristic of island dances.

Tai Tai is a women's dance from Thessaly. They dance it around this time of year, on the Tuesday following Easter Sunday to close the three day Easter celebrations.

Tik ("upright") is the most common Pontian dance, found all over Pontos. Tik can be danced to different rhythms of music. This non-traditional version is in 5/8 rhythm. When danced to fast music, the dance is called Tik Tromachton (Jumping Tik).

This special version of Tik is called Tik Mihalis, by Mihalis Kaliontzidis. CD - Vas 031 is produced by the Vasipap record company You can also buy it online from Greek City.

In Greece the same dance can often be found under different names in different area, or as a totally different dance under the same name.

Trigona, a popular dance from all over Pontos, is a good example of how a dance retains its identity from region to region, while adapting itself to regional styles:

• Trigona from Ghourousand in the Kars area is in 5/8 rhytm, played with the Lyra/Kemenche.
• Trigona from Matsouka is in 7/8 rhythm, played with the Kouloum (bagpipe) and singing.
• Trigona from Trapzon (Trepizond) in 2/4, played with Lyra and singing. Trigona from Trapzon is the most common version and it is the one you'll hear the most often in Pontian clubs.

There are slight differences in the arm movements between the regions. In Matsouka it is danced with a bigger movement of the body.

Many Bulgarian dances from Thrace have "cousins" in Thracian Greece, and this is one of them: a Greek dance that sounds and feels Bulgarian.

This is a challenging dance is from the Romilia Region, next to the Bulgarian border. It was probably brought by Greeks who were expelled from Bulgaria after the first world war. It was first taught to us by Serge Ben Simon, and again by Kyriakos Moisidis.

This is a Vlach version of the dance “Sta Dio” from Metsovo, Epirus near the Macedonian border. The dance is alive today and is performed regularly at most dance events in Metsovo, a well-known and prosperous Vlach community.

Vlacha is a Greek dance from the Cyclades Islands. It's very upbeat and very easy - a great "start of the evening" dance.

Zagorisios is a favorite dance from the Epirus region of Greece.

A fun line dance from the Macedonian region of Greece.

This Zonaradikos, Tin Kardia M'tin Klithomeni (My locked up heart), is a love song from Greece. Many dances, but Greek dances in particular, are danced to more than one melody. The rhythm on this song is typical for dancing Zonaradiko from the region of eastern Thrace.

The name “Zonaradiko” comes from the way the men hold one another by their belts (zoni).

Zvarniara is a Greek couple dance from Thessaly.