Opa! Dancing not ‘all Greek to me’ anymore (Printed Jan. 18, 2008)
By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
“If I learned it, I think anybody else can,” says South Portland resident Arthur Linnell, referring to the style of folk dancing that has kept his feet moving for years.
After attending one of his Greek dancing lessons, however, I learned Linnell is modest and Greek dancing is harder than it looks, but it is also a lot of fun. Having attended a few Greek festivals – mainly for the food – I thought it might be interesting to learn some dance moves.
Linnell is currently teaching Greek dance lessons to beginners and the experienced alike through the South Portland Parks and Recreation Department, located at the South Portland Community Center.
At the end of the class, Linnell encourages his dancers to bring in a Greek food dish for a glendi or party. At the risk of someone thinking I was just in it for the food, I decided to attend Linnell’s first class on Jan. 11.
There’s no need for a partner and the only equipment you will need are comfortable shoes. I’ll try any type of dance that doesn’t give me the opportunity to stomp all over a partner’s shoes with my two left feet.
Nearly 80, Linnell took up Greek dancing after he hosted a Greek exchange student in his home for nearly a year in the early 1970s. Linnell says he initially reached out to the assistant principal at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, who happened to be Greek, for help communicating with his “Greek son,” Menelaus Carayannisis. When the assistant principal started an adult education Greek dancing class, Linnell started attending the classes and says, “I just fell in love with it and I kept going back.”
“And the instructor said, ‘Hey, you know these dances so well, why don’t you co-teach with me?’” Linnell says.
He’s been teaching to groups of all ages ever since. Linnell doesn’t claim to be an expert in Greek culture. He’s just out to share the dance and the music that has captured his soul. I soon found some of his students have come to enjoy the music as much as he does.
“This is our fourth time, I think,” says Jan Chapman of Cape Elizabeth, estimating the number of classes she has taken with Linnell.
Bruce Moore, also of Cape Elizabeth, and Edie Tucker of Falmouth have also taken classes with Linnell before, but Joan Weaver of Stonington is a newcomer like myself.
“I knew I’d like it because I love the music,” says Weaver. “It’s just lively and it’s pretty happy. My experience of Greeks is that they generally have a pretty good time.”
Linnell starts the music, filling the senior wing of the community center with the sounds of the bouzouki, a long necked lute heard often in traditional Greek music. I’m suddenly hungry for baklavah, but I join the others in a line facing Linnell.
We start with the Hasapiko, a dance similar to the Jewish hora, Linnell says. There are variations of the dance and we start with a series of steps and small kicks.
The step reminds me of a country western line dance, but then the other dancers clasp hands and we start dancing the Hasapiko around the room. As we circle around the room, I notice the other dancers have added a hop to their steps.
“You can step into line any time, but don’t step into the head of the line,” Linnell says, explaining the first person in line is expected to know the good steps and lead the group in variations of the step. Laughing, I realize I’m at the head of the line, but luckily I don’t think anyone is looking to my feet for direction.
There are so many dances, it seems impossible that someone could know all the variations. Linnell says there are different dances for men and women and different areas of Greece have their own dances.
We try another dance with Turkish origins that Linnell calls the Rampee; instead of holding hands while performing the series of hops and twists into knee bends, our group forms two lines facing each other. Tucker and Chapman face Weaver, Moore and I as we step forward three times on the right foot and lift the left leg in the air. The lines weave together as we pick up the pace and add more spirit to the steps.
Linnell says the best way to learn Greek dancing is to do it and after giving it a try I would have to agree with him. I couldn’t pick up the steps just by watching. Somehow when you join hands, the rhythm passes from dancer to dancer and before you can say, “Opa!,” you realize your feet are actually performing the right steps.
And if you don’t get the hang of it on the first try, don’t worry. As Tucker says, folk dancing doesn’t discriminate between good and bad dancers. If you can, let the music transport you to a sun-drenched villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. I’m sure you’ll be dancing in no time.
Linnell’s next Greek dance lesson will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. tonight (Jan. 18) at the South Portland Community Center. Lessons are offered every Friday evening now through March. The cost is $2 per class paid directly to the instructor. For more information contact the South Portland Parks and Recreation Department at 767-7650.
Staff Writer
“If I learned it, I think anybody else can,” says South Portland resident Arthur Linnell, referring to the style of folk dancing that has kept his feet moving for years.
After attending one of his Greek dancing lessons, however, I learned Linnell is modest and Greek dancing is harder than it looks, but it is also a lot of fun. Having attended a few Greek festivals – mainly for the food – I thought it might be interesting to learn some dance moves.
Linnell is currently teaching Greek dance lessons to beginners and the experienced alike through the South Portland Parks and Recreation Department, located at the South Portland Community Center.
At the end of the class, Linnell encourages his dancers to bring in a Greek food dish for a glendi or party. At the risk of someone thinking I was just in it for the food, I decided to attend Linnell’s first class on Jan. 11.
There’s no need for a partner and the only equipment you will need are comfortable shoes. I’ll try any type of dance that doesn’t give me the opportunity to stomp all over a partner’s shoes with my two left feet.
Nearly 80, Linnell took up Greek dancing after he hosted a Greek exchange student in his home for nearly a year in the early 1970s. Linnell says he initially reached out to the assistant principal at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, who happened to be Greek, for help communicating with his “Greek son,” Menelaus Carayannisis. When the assistant principal started an adult education Greek dancing class, Linnell started attending the classes and says, “I just fell in love with it and I kept going back.”
“And the instructor said, ‘Hey, you know these dances so well, why don’t you co-teach with me?’” Linnell says.
He’s been teaching to groups of all ages ever since. Linnell doesn’t claim to be an expert in Greek culture. He’s just out to share the dance and the music that has captured his soul. I soon found some of his students have come to enjoy the music as much as he does.
“This is our fourth time, I think,” says Jan Chapman of Cape Elizabeth, estimating the number of classes she has taken with Linnell.
Bruce Moore, also of Cape Elizabeth, and Edie Tucker of Falmouth have also taken classes with Linnell before, but Joan Weaver of Stonington is a newcomer like myself.
“I knew I’d like it because I love the music,” says Weaver. “It’s just lively and it’s pretty happy. My experience of Greeks is that they generally have a pretty good time.”
Linnell starts the music, filling the senior wing of the community center with the sounds of the bouzouki, a long necked lute heard often in traditional Greek music. I’m suddenly hungry for baklavah, but I join the others in a line facing Linnell.
We start with the Hasapiko, a dance similar to the Jewish hora, Linnell says. There are variations of the dance and we start with a series of steps and small kicks.
The step reminds me of a country western line dance, but then the other dancers clasp hands and we start dancing the Hasapiko around the room. As we circle around the room, I notice the other dancers have added a hop to their steps.
“You can step into line any time, but don’t step into the head of the line,” Linnell says, explaining the first person in line is expected to know the good steps and lead the group in variations of the step. Laughing, I realize I’m at the head of the line, but luckily I don’t think anyone is looking to my feet for direction.
There are so many dances, it seems impossible that someone could know all the variations. Linnell says there are different dances for men and women and different areas of Greece have their own dances.
We try another dance with Turkish origins that Linnell calls the Rampee; instead of holding hands while performing the series of hops and twists into knee bends, our group forms two lines facing each other. Tucker and Chapman face Weaver, Moore and I as we step forward three times on the right foot and lift the left leg in the air. The lines weave together as we pick up the pace and add more spirit to the steps.
Linnell says the best way to learn Greek dancing is to do it and after giving it a try I would have to agree with him. I couldn’t pick up the steps just by watching. Somehow when you join hands, the rhythm passes from dancer to dancer and before you can say, “Opa!,” you realize your feet are actually performing the right steps.
And if you don’t get the hang of it on the first try, don’t worry. As Tucker says, folk dancing doesn’t discriminate between good and bad dancers. If you can, let the music transport you to a sun-drenched villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. I’m sure you’ll be dancing in no time.
Linnell’s next Greek dance lesson will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. tonight (Jan. 18) at the South Portland Community Center. Lessons are offered every Friday evening now through March. The cost is $2 per class paid directly to the instructor. For more information contact the South Portland Parks and Recreation Department at 767-7650.
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