Hi all, got to thinking about the non conqueror side of Alexander, that is to say ..what did they or he do for enterainment? yes I know they loved to eat, drink, and he played the lyre, but what of dance, did they have a band at these weddings and parties ?.Was there dancing?
George
alexander dancing
Moderator: pothos moderators
-
Sikander
Re: alexander dancing
Greetings George,
The Greco-Makedonian region has a rich heritage of dance, past and
present. While some dances are considered relatively "modern"
(and that means still quite old!), others like the Tsakonikos (south side of
the Peloponese) are thought to be derivatives of the ancient dances.
The Kalamatianos ("ormos") has ancient roots as might the
aptalikso (stems from Asia Minor), the syrtos sta dio and koftos
( Epiros and Thesalia), the karagouna ( originally from the Karagouni,
but becoming pan-hellenic), Zonaradikos (Thrace) and possibly gaida
(Makedon). Most of these dances reflect a ritual quality, but some are a means to display athletic prowess, or are salutes to courage and bravery.
Interestingly, there is now a strong interest in studying folk/folkloric music
and dance as it relates to historical developments, the study of ancient
history and peoples, because the spread of dance and music is strongly
connected to the movement of people.
Looking at the music and dance of antiquity and its development, one can
imagine the men in ritualized group dance (these are usually fairly slow, with few steps
but requiring exact precision to the music), faster group dances (the
footwork is more complex and demanding) and dances designed to "show
off" the participants prowess, as an indication of his courage and strength.
In most cases, the men would have danced with no women in the
lines or circles, as it as only been "recently" that women have participated at all in certain dances.
Hope that helps a little- it is a vast area of study, so this is an extremely
abbreviated version!
Regards,
Sikander
The Greco-Makedonian region has a rich heritage of dance, past and
present. While some dances are considered relatively "modern"
(and that means still quite old!), others like the Tsakonikos (south side of
the Peloponese) are thought to be derivatives of the ancient dances.
The Kalamatianos ("ormos") has ancient roots as might the
aptalikso (stems from Asia Minor), the syrtos sta dio and koftos
( Epiros and Thesalia), the karagouna ( originally from the Karagouni,
but becoming pan-hellenic), Zonaradikos (Thrace) and possibly gaida
(Makedon). Most of these dances reflect a ritual quality, but some are a means to display athletic prowess, or are salutes to courage and bravery.
Interestingly, there is now a strong interest in studying folk/folkloric music
and dance as it relates to historical developments, the study of ancient
history and peoples, because the spread of dance and music is strongly
connected to the movement of people.
Looking at the music and dance of antiquity and its development, one can
imagine the men in ritualized group dance (these are usually fairly slow, with few steps
but requiring exact precision to the music), faster group dances (the
footwork is more complex and demanding) and dances designed to "show
off" the participants prowess, as an indication of his courage and strength.
In most cases, the men would have danced with no women in the
lines or circles, as it as only been "recently" that women have participated at all in certain dances.
Hope that helps a little- it is a vast area of study, so this is an extremely
abbreviated version!
Regards,
Sikander
-
marcus
- Somatophylax
- Posts: 4846
- Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2002 7:27 am
- Location: Nottingham, England
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Re: alexander dancing
Thanks for that, Sikander. Very interesting - an area I know (or knew) nothing about and, if I'm honest, hadn't spent any time thinking about before.
All the best
Marcus
All the best
Marcus
-
anon
Re: alexander dancing
Evidence Of Ancient Macedonian Culture Surviving In The LivingCulture Of Modern Indigenous Macedonian Nation:
..."The Macedonian dances ...belong among the oldest recorded dances in the world....
....West Macedonian dances.......slow motion dances, danced only by men, with long, measured steps. The only accompaniment is the drum and a high-pitched wind instrument. One of these dances is the "Teshkoto". Now it is called a shepherd's dance, of nimble leaps from rock to rock, watching for possible beast or bandit. Actually, it is an archaic Macedonian dance from pre-slav times, dramatizing the difficult life of the Macedonians, recalling border warfare and raids, the unending battle to defend the flocks, the land, the tribe.
In the beginning , says Dr. Mane Chuchkov, Macedonian musicologist and economic geographer, people had nothing but body movements to show how they lived. ...
...There are ancient Macedonian dances performed to the beat of drums only. And there are silent dances with no instruments or singing or hand-clapping at all. They are the eeriest, sometimes interspersed with weird cries. .....
.... The zurla and the drum (tapan) are not Turkish, as often believed.You find them in frescoes preceding the Turks. They arrived in the Balkans before the Slavs. The Macedonian bagpipe has a seventh little hole with a straw, not for producing a tone but for ornamenting it: it does the murmuring. It is therefore called the "mermorec"-the "murmurer"- and is only one-and-a-half millimeters wide....
.....According to some musicologists, there is so much archaism inMacedonian music, as well as in costumes, dances, customs, for the reason that this region has lived so long in servitude which precluded foreign influences. ....
In the wild Mariovo region in southern Macedonia (RM) matriarchy still reigns, costumes and customs are still archaic and civilization has only begun to arrive with a road built recently...".
[Pribichevich: Macedonia - Its People and History, 1982.]
..."The Macedonian dances ...belong among the oldest recorded dances in the world....
....West Macedonian dances.......slow motion dances, danced only by men, with long, measured steps. The only accompaniment is the drum and a high-pitched wind instrument. One of these dances is the "Teshkoto". Now it is called a shepherd's dance, of nimble leaps from rock to rock, watching for possible beast or bandit. Actually, it is an archaic Macedonian dance from pre-slav times, dramatizing the difficult life of the Macedonians, recalling border warfare and raids, the unending battle to defend the flocks, the land, the tribe.
In the beginning , says Dr. Mane Chuchkov, Macedonian musicologist and economic geographer, people had nothing but body movements to show how they lived. ...
...There are ancient Macedonian dances performed to the beat of drums only. And there are silent dances with no instruments or singing or hand-clapping at all. They are the eeriest, sometimes interspersed with weird cries. .....
.... The zurla and the drum (tapan) are not Turkish, as often believed.You find them in frescoes preceding the Turks. They arrived in the Balkans before the Slavs. The Macedonian bagpipe has a seventh little hole with a straw, not for producing a tone but for ornamenting it: it does the murmuring. It is therefore called the "mermorec"-the "murmurer"- and is only one-and-a-half millimeters wide....
.....According to some musicologists, there is so much archaism inMacedonian music, as well as in costumes, dances, customs, for the reason that this region has lived so long in servitude which precluded foreign influences. ....
In the wild Mariovo region in southern Macedonia (RM) matriarchy still reigns, costumes and customs are still archaic and civilization has only begun to arrive with a road built recently...".
[Pribichevich: Macedonia - Its People and History, 1982.]
Re: alexander dancing
Well thank you all for such great answers to a question I kind of felt most would ignor, or think had no merit. I feel proud to belong to such a group
George
George