Zorba the Greek Dance has become a very important part of Greek culture. What started as a short dance at the end of a famous film has turned into a cultural phenomena happening in Greek taverns everywhere. The complicated dance has been performed on many stages, been covered a hundred times, and can be done different ways, but these young girls performing at their dance recital take the dance to a whole other level.
Once you hear the music, you recognize the song. The familiar slow tempo that gradually picks up speed has been in other films and is familiar to most people, it’s the dancing that proves most difficult.
The complicated steps are not easy to follow, or learn for that matter but somehow these young girls make it look so easy. They start out slow at first but soon it’s too hard to just keep track of their feet.
The first six girls open up what looks like a simple performance with stomps and claps, but then are quickly joined by 12 more, just stomping and clapping. They soon all get into formation and the real tapping starts. Their legs move perfectly in sync as their tap shoes create another layer of rhythm to the music.
Then just as you would see in any other performance of the Greek dance, one breaks off swinging a white towel while everyone follows her- never breaking synchronization. The tempo continues to pick up and the girls still never miss a beat.
The style and level of difficulty of this dance is suited for dancers much older and experienced, but the way that these girls are able to perform is incredible. Some of them look as though they’re no older than 10 and they already show the skills of someone who has been dancing for years
The dance ends with all the girls coming together again- faster still and continuing to tap to the impossible tempo of the song. As the traditional dance comes to its end, most strike a pose from the floor, but two girls break plates on the floor with a loud “Ole!” to end the performance, just as any traditional Greek would have done.
Since it was posted, the YouTube video has gained more than 3 million views from people all over the world. The comments section is filled with people praising the young girls on their talent and Greeks expressing their pride and grattitude towards the wonderful performance.
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