Ai Georgis is a dance from the village of Nestani

Nestani

Nestani is a small village around 15km from Tripoli in the Peloponnese, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit Mantineia. The municipal district Nestani also contains the village of Milea....

 in Arkadia

Arkadia

Arkadia may refer to:* Arcadia, a region of Greece, also known as Arkadía* Arkadia , a shopping mall in Warsaw, Poland* Arkadia, Łowicz County in Łódź Voivodeship...

, a region of Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 in the Peloponnesus which takes its name from the mythological character Arcas

Arcas

In Greek mythology, Arcas was the son of Zeus and Callisto. Callisto was a nymph in the retinue of the goddess Artemis. Zeus, being a flirtatious god, wanted Callisto for a lover. As she would not be with anyone but Artemis, Zeus cunningly disguised himself as Artemis and seduced Callisto...

. The dance is performed and danced on the feast day of St George usually after Easter Sunday.

Dance

The dance is accompanied only by song. The men lead the dance and the women follow. Each of the male dancers holds a shepherd

Shepherd

A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...

s crook which has been entwined with green leaves and wildflowers. The hand holding the crook is bent at the elbows. The rhythm of the song is in 7/8 and in 2/4. The dance is made up of ten basic steps broken into four parts. The lyrics are about St George protecting the villagers from the hands of the Ottomans and about Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...

.

See also

• Greek music
• Greek dances
  Greek dances
  Greek dance is a very old tradition, being referred to by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. There are different styles and interpretations from all of the islands and surrounding mainland areas. Each region formed its own choreography and style to fit in with their own ways...
  
  
• Greek folk music
  Greek folk music
  Greek folk music includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and elsewhere. Apart from the common music found all-around Greece, there are distinct types of folk music, sometimes related to the history or simply the taste of the...
  
  
• Nisiotika
  Nisiotika
  Nisiotika is the name of the dances of Greek islands including a variety of Greek styles, played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and elsewhere....
  
  
• Sousta
  Sousta
  Sousta is the name of a folk dance in Cyprus and Crete which is danced in Greece and generally in the Balkans. The music is generally played with a lyre , laouto, and mandolin ....
  
  
• Ikariotikos
  Ikariotikos
  Ikariotikos is a traditional dance and accompanying song originating by Ikaria a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, At first it was a very slow dance, but today Ikariotikos is a fast dance from Aegean islands . Some specialists say that the traditional Ikariotikos was slow and the quick "version" of...