Peloponnese Feature

Dance performances, accompanied by traditional music, are common in the region. In the tsakonikos, the dancers wheel tightly around each other and then swing into bizarre spirals; this dance resembles the sacred dance of Delos, first performed by Theseus to mime how he escaped from the Labyrinth. The popular kalamatianos is a circular dance from Kalamata. The tsamikos, from Roumeli in central Greece, is an exclusively male dance showcasing agility and derring-do. You will see your fill of dancing at local festivals to celebrate a town or village's patron saint, usually in summer. Dancing is also part of a Greek wedding, and it's not entirely unlikely that you might attend one. The guest list usually includes the entire population of a village or section of town, and if you happen to be staying there at the time of a wedding, you may well be invited.