This Island Life, examines aspects of life on the Aegean island of Ikaria.
On Saturday, June 14, 2008, a Festival of Greek Dance was held in the village of Rahes, and this film, one of several on this site, is a compilation of many the dances performanced during the evening. The festival took place on the village basketball court, under lights that attracted hundreds of moths and other airborne insects which fell constantly onto the heads of the audience below. This probably explains why only half the lights were turned on during the performances. Unfortunately, this also made it extremely difficult to get good, well lit footage of the dances.
Audience chatter and the constant movement of children and adults across the 'stage' seems to be part and parcel of any event of this type, given the location, and the hot summer night. In the end, it all goes towards creating yet another unforgettable and unique Greek island experience.
The wonderful thing about this festival is the way the community totally involves itself in the event. Rather than assume the constant chatter and movement as being disrespectful to the musicians and dancers, instead take this as a sign of the audiences involvement and connection with the music and dancing. Quite frankly, I'm surprised the adults didn't get up and dance during the three hour show themselves. Greeks find it very difficult to sit and watch something like this, when their natural inclination is to get up and join in.
Also take note of some of the children in the film. There are brief shots of young kids on the basketball court, trying to learn the dances while they are being performed by the groups taking part in the festival. Later on you can see these same children, some probably no older than five or six years of age, joining in with the adults to dance the Ikariotiko at the end of the night. It would of course, be unthinkable to tell the children to keep out of the way while the adults did 'their thing'. The children are literally learning at the feet of the adult dancers.
Speaking of the Ikariotiko... the music you hear throughout the film is the traditional Ikarian dance known by that name. The music is performed here on a Tsampouna, an instrument made out of goat skin, which has obvious links to the Scottish bagpipe and the gaida. I should also add, the Ikariotiko is played constantly at festivals, weddings, parties, in deed at celebrations and occasions of all types. And not just once per night, but many times. Each musician has his or her own variation of the tune, and some musicians are still remembered and spoken about today, long after their passing, because of the way they played the dance.
I love how the musician actually spends a full minute and 20 seconds (1:20), playing an extended introduction to the main tune. This gives audience and performers alike plenty of time to make their way onto the basketball court and join lines in readiness for the dance to begin.
To my great regret, I did not get the name of the female playing the Tsampouna, nor did I take any footage of her during the dance, which finished off the evening's entertainment. However, as chance would have it, she happened to walk past my camera just before I turned it off at the end of the dance. I have captured a frame from the video and added it as a still image just before the final credits appear as a way to acknowledge her performance.
A comment added to one of my other videos suggests the musician is Eva Kratsa. Another source thought she lived on the island of Mykonos.
This is an unedited film of the Ikariotiko, which finished the festival celebrations. I have also used the tune as a soundtrack to a compilation of the dance program on another film on this site called, This Island Life: Rahes Dance Festival.
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This Island Life: Langada Ikariotiko 2008by jimlesses8,552 views
Hi Zak, it is indeed the same tune or a variant of the one your yiayia used to sing. The dance tune has developed it own variations over the years as each new generation of musicians (that is violinists), add their own embelishments to the basic melody.
jimlesses 1 year ago
Thank you Jim for showing me an insight as to where my grandparents came from.
alexis7654 3 years ago
My pleasure. I hope you have an opportunity to visit the island yourself in the near future -- if you haven't had a chance to do so already.
jimlesses 3 years ago