The Phenomenon of Greek Traditional Dance Workshops in Greece: The Case of the Cultural Association “En Choro”

Abstract

The participation of Greek dance teachers and members of dance groups in Greek traditional dance workshops has risen immensely during the last three decades in Greece. The explicit interest in obtaining additional knowledge in Greek traditional dances and the constant interaction of teachers-participants-organisers in the area where the workshop takes place, has created a particular characteristic "space" within the overall phenomenon of Greek traditional dance education. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of Greek traditional dance workshops in Greece by exploring the content, methods, and teaching styles of the longest-running workshop in Greece, organised each year by the non-profit cultural association "En Choro"(Εν Χορώ/In Dance). For this purpose, ethnographic research was carried out with its application to the dance research methodology. Data analysis was based on: a) teaching methods for Greek traditional dance; b) teaching styles proposed by Mosston and Ashworth (1994); and c) observation of the teaching process through the Cheffers Adaptation of Flanders Interaction Analysis System (CAFIAS). The findings of this research indicate that the teachers use a variety of teaching methods, while, the teaching process, as a whole, is dominated by the command style. Even though alternative teaching perspectives have been proposed during the last several years, dance teachers seem to disregard the new teaching directions or are reticent regarding the use of those new methods.