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. Nisiotika, has a well known folk dance tradition, which comes from ancient Greece and worldwide widespread Greek dances of Greek antiquity like: Syrtos, Kalamatianos and Sousta. The lyre is the dominant folk instrument and other like klarino, violin, askomandoura with Greek characteristics vary widely. In the Aegean, the violin and the Cretan lyra are very widespread musical instruments. Famous representative musicians and performers of Nisiotika include: Mariza Koch as credited with reviving the field in the 1970s, Yiannis Parios, Domna Samiou, the Konitopouloi family: including Giorgos Konitopoulos, Vangelis Konitopoulos, Eirini Konitopolou, Nasia and Stella Konitopoulou and other.

There are prominent elements of Cretan music on the Dodecanese Islands,too.

Greek folk dances of Nisiotika include:

• Syrtos
• Sousta
• Kalamatianos
• Kalamatiano
• Ikariotikos
• Lerikos
• Trata
• Ballos
• Kamara
• Panagia
• Kalymnikos
• mihanikos
• Ai Georgis
• Pentozali

Nisiotika is a significant aspect of Greek culture, both within Greece and in the diaspora.

See also

• Music of Greece
• Greek folk music
• Greek dances