Северна Македонија
1
Greece of the Hellenes” Lucy M. J. Garnett, Page: 175-176-177Originally Posted by mongrel
In the larger towns and in some of the islands the dances in vogue are more or less those of Europe generally. But in the rural districts the native dances are still popular, the most common varieties of these being the Syrtos, the Tsamikos, l and the Leventikos, all of which are, as a rule, danced in the open air.1 The dance of the Tsams, or Chams, as the southern Albanians are termed. The Tsamikos is danced by men only. The performers are connected by handkerchiefs, as in the syrtos horos, but the dancing is all done by the occupant of the right-hand extremity of the line, the rest, as they follow him, merely marking the rhythm with their feet and singing. The leader meanwhile moves backwards and forwards performing a variety of steps leaping, falling on one knee, performing feats of equilibrium, and waving a handkerchief with his free hand. When fatigued with these exertions he cedes his place to the performer on his left, and each in turn endeavours to surpass his fellows in feats of agility. This dance has many local varieties with special names, one of which is supposed to be a survival of the Pyrrhic dance of Albania. This has all the characteristics of a war dance, and is much affected by soldiers of both races. At the bivouac, or before the wayside hostelry, wherever indeed an opportunity offers, will gather a group of youths with lissome bodies, and it may be long classic faces, who, forming a ring, circle round interminably, leaping and shouting to the rhythm of their own wild songs. The songs reserved for such occasions are different for men and women, those peculiar to the men being often of a martial nature, especially in the case of the Tsamikos, or Pyrrhic dance.
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