irtaki a Turkish dance, top Greek expert says

Baku, April 10, AZERTAC
Sirtaki, a popular dance of supposed Greek origin choreographed by Giorgos Provias for the 1964 film “Zorba the Greek,” is actually a Turkish dance, a top Greek dance expert told Anadolu Agency on April 9.
“Sirtaki is not a Greek dance. Authentic Greek dances are not widely known in Turkey. Thus, dances like sirtaki have a wider appeal here [in Turkey]. I think they are Turkish dances, choreographically,” Alkis Raftis, the president of the International Dance Council at UNESCO, said at the opening ceremony of a dance club in Bodrum, a tourist resort in the southwestern Turkish province of Muğla.
As a Greek citizen and an ethnographic researcher in the field of dance, specifically in the area of traditional Greek dance, the professor said he felt at home in Turkey because of his grandmother’s Istanbul roots.
“Ten years ago, Turkey was a very rich country, in respect to folk dances,” Raftis said. Since then, Turkey has made great progress in every dance discipline, according to Raftis.
Raftis said the council received many applications from dance schools in various Turkish provinces, adding that the UNESCO group was keen to improve cooperation in the years to come.
FEEDBACK
Other news in this section
- 16.06.2023 [18:33]
Max Park solves Rubik’s Cube in 3.13 seconds, setting new world record
- 15.04.2023 [18:19]
Woman spent 500 days alone in a cave for a human experiment
- 03.04.2023 [18:22]
Mobile phone inventor made first call 50 years ago
- 05.01.2023 [17:46]
Tokyo's Toyosu market holds first auction in 2023
- 25.07.2022 [12:18]
Companies 'visualize' sound to help the hearing impaired
- 20.05.2022 [15:10]
Vintage Mercedes fetches record €135 mn at auction
- 21.04.2022 [18:48]
Scientists find evidence for biggest earthquake in human history
3rd CIS Games Organizing Committee convenes second meeting
- 13.06.2025 [22:54]
Azerbaijan’s Deputy Energy Minister visits NATO Headquarters
- 13.06.2025 [22:44]
Baku hosts premiere of “Thomas Goltz: An Oil Odyssey” documentary
- 13.06.2025 [22:05]
Baku to host PABSEC’s 65th plenary session
- 13.06.2025 [20:42]
Incoming Polish ambassador presents his credentials to Azerbaijani FM
- 13.06.2025 [20:04]
Tudor extends Juventus contract
- 13.06.2025 [19:46]
Türkiye expands rail tourism with launch of Karaelmas Express
- 13.06.2025 [19:38]
Heydar Aliyev Center park to host concert marking National Salvation Day
- 13.06.2025 [19:23]
Poland head coach Probierz resigns following rift with Lewandowski
- 13.06.2025 [19:20]
Azerbaijani Defense Minister meets with Uzbek Security Council Secretary
- 13.06.2025 [19:06]
World-first blood cancer therapy to be given on UK’s NHS
- 13.06.2025 [18:51]
Space station air leaks trigger delay to private astronaut mission
- 13.06.2025 [18:14]
Azerbaijani PM approves Master Plan for Lachin city
- 13.06.2025 [17:59]
Liverpool agree British-record fee for Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz
- 13.06.2025 [17:52]
Brussels hosts third meeting of Azerbaijan-European Union Energy Dialogue
- 13.06.2025 [17:24]
Baku hosts FIG Acrobatic Gymnastics World Cup
- 13.06.2025 [16:25]
Azerbaijan, UAE explore prospects for partnership cooperation
- 13.06.2025 [16:01]
Italy provides 14 million euros in support for Moldova
- 13.06.2025 [15:19]
Death toll in Air India plane crash rises to 265, 1 survivor
- 13.06.2025 [13:42]
AZAL cancels several flights due to recent developments in Middle East
- 13.06.2025 [13:19]
Verify your identity on “digital.login” with “SİMA KYC”!
- 13.06.2025 [13:06]
Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry appeals to citizens traveling to Israel
- 13.06.2025 [13:02]
® Join Birbank’s “Birinci” tariff and get bonuses!
- 13.06.2025 [13:00]
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issues statement on Israel-Iran escalation
- 13.06.2025 [12:55]
Air Astana, FlyArystan flights to bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace
- 13.06.2025 [12:48]
Bulgaria cancels flights amid Israeli attack on Iran
- 13.06.2025 [12:30]
TURKPA elects new Secretary General
- 13.06.2025 [12:27]
Azerbaijan, Türkiye discuss future cooperation in field of social services
- 13.06.2025 [12:19]
Israel issues travel alert for citizens abroad after Iran strikes
- 13.06.2025 [12:14]
Lankaran hands over title of Youth Capital of Turkic World to Almaty
- 13.06.2025 [11:58]
3 Azerbaijani judokas to compete at World Judo Championship
- 13.06.2025 [11:55]
World Bank lifts ban on nuclear energy projects
- 13.06.2025 [11:15]
Oil prices edge up in global markets
- 13.06.2025 [10:55]
Kazakhstan, China and Russia to create joint transport-logistics center
- 13.06.2025 [10:45]
Novel nanotechnology turns water waste into fertilizer
- 13.06.2025 [10:39]
Azerbaijani oil price exceeds $73
- 13.06.2025 [10:12]
Azerbaijan and International Energy Agency discuss cooperation
- 12.06.2025 [21:35]
Azerbaijan, Türkiye discuss expanding business partnership
- 12.06.2025 [21:29]
Azerbaijani Minister of Science and Education meets with Huawei executives
- 12.06.2025 [21:22]
De Bruyne joins Italian champions Napoli after Man City exit
- 12.06.2025 [21:16]
Tourism between Morocco and Azerbaijan sees steady growth
- 12.06.2025 [20:52]
Azerbaijan, China sign Letter of Intent on AI cooperation
- 12.06.2025 [20:29]
Minister of Energy highlights Azerbaijan’s green energy policy in Brussels
- 12.06.2025 [20:11]
Kazakh President meets with Speakers of Parliaments of TURKPA member states
- 12.06.2025 [19:52]
Vienna hosts 11th session of Azerbaijan–Austria Intergovernmental Commission
- 12.06.2025 [19:33]
Oxford University promotes Azerbaijani culture
- 12.06.2025 [18:41]
Azerbaijani President offers condolences to UK Prime Minister
- 12.06.2025 [18:27]
Action plan to be developed for declaring Shusha ECO Tourism Capital - ORDER
- 12.06.2025 [18:18]
From Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone
- 12.06.2025 [18:12]
Another online seminar held under “Energy Talks” project
- 12.06.2025 [18:07]
Vienna hosts Austria-Azerbaijan business roundtable
- 12.06.2025 [17:54]
TURKPA once again supports return to Western Azerbaijan
- 12.06.2025 [17:44]
US Secretary of State congratulates Russians on Russia Day
- 12.06.2025 [17:26]
Family values - spiritual pillars uniting Turkic states, says minister
- 12.06.2025 [17:17]
Azerbaijan, Oman explore prospects for educational cooperation
- 12.06.2025 [17:10]
Two BHOS students earn Academician Khoshbakht Yusifzade Scholarship
- 12.06.2025 [17:00]
From Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary
- 12.06.2025 [16:02]
AZPROMO discusses expanding cooperation with Chinese companies
- 12.06.2025 [16:02]
Levon Mnatsakanyan: We lost 18 combat positions during April battles
- 12.06.2025 [15:49]