Miteritsa

MITERITSA
Greek

PRONUNCIATION: MEE-teh-reet-sah

TRANSLATION: Little mother

SOURCE: Dick Oakes learned this dance from John Pappas, who taught it at the 1976 Folk Dance Symposium, the 1975 Texas Camp, and the 1979 Idyllwild Folk Dance Workshop.

BACKGROUND: Miteritsa, both a dance and a game for children and adults, is danced by the Greeks from Pontos. Pontic Greeks are originally from the Black Sea area, a region now dominated by Turkey. This dance-game, reminiscent of America's Virginia Reel, is not native to the Pontics, however, and was probably imported from Russia.

MUSIC: Folk Dancer (45rpm) MH 4025

FORMATION: With hands joined and held down in "V" pos, a group of 8 to 10 M are together at the R end of an open cir, and a group of 8 to 10 W are together at the L end of the open cir. The lead W holds the last M hand.

METER/RHYTHM: 4/4

STEPS/STYLE: The style is happy and lively with much hand clapping and obvious enjoyment. During Fig I, there may be a slight stamp on the R as the knee makes slight flexion, and there may be more of a flexion of the L knee as weight is taken on the L.

MEAS MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION

INTRODUCTION

1-4 On recommended recording, the orchestra tunes up for three measures, then there are 4 meas introduction without action.

I. WALK RIGHT AND LEFT

1 Facing slightly and moving R in LOD, step R (ct 1); step L next to R (ct 2); step R (ct 3); step L next to R (ct 4);

2-4 Repeat action of meas 1 three more times, turning to face to the L on the last step;

5-8 Repeat action of meas 1-4 in opp dir but with same ftwk.

II. M ELBOW REEL WITH W

1-8 All dancers realease hands and clap as the lead M skips over to the other end of the line with hop-steps and, choosing any W, hooks R elbows. This cpl skips CW for one meas and, hooking L elbows, skips CCW for one meas.

The lead M then continues on to another W and repeats the same CW/CCW turning with her as the first W chosen returns to her orig place. The lead M continues this reeling with other ptrs leaving enough time to skip back to his orig place before the next 8 meas begin.

Repeat the entire dance from beg except that the first W chosen now skips across (instead of a M) and selects any M ptr of her choosing and dances the reel as did the lead M before.

On the next repeat of the dance, the M chosed on the first repeat now skips across, and so on and so on.

MITERITSA
Greece
Pronounce th as in that.

/ Miteritsa mou glikia, thelo mia 'gapitikia /
/ Mavramatia ke megala, zimomena me to gala. /

/ Ithela na'rtho to vradi, m'epiase psili vrohi /
/ To Theo parakalousa, yia na se vro monahi. /

Sweet mother, I want a loved one,
With eyes dark and large and beautiful skin.

I wanted to come to you last night. A light rain caught me.
I asked God to let you be alone when I found you.

Copyright © 2012 by Dick Oakes

MITERITSA Greek

PRONUNCIATION:	MEE-teh-reet-sah

TRANSLATION:	Little mother

SOURCE:	Dick Oakes learned this dance from John Pappas, who taught it at the 1976 Folk Dance Symposium, the 1975 Texas Camp, and the 1979 Idyllwild Folk Dance Workshop.

BACKGROUND:	Miteritsa, both a dance and a game for children and adults, is danced by the Greeks from Pontos. Pontic Greeks are originally from the Black Sea area, a region now dominated by Turkey. This dance-game, reminiscent of America's Virginia Reel, is not native to the Pontics, however, and was probably imported from Russia.

MUSIC:	Folk Dancer (45rpm) MH 4025

FORMATION:	With hands joined and held down in "V" pos, a group of 8 to 10 M are together at the R end of an open cir, and a group of 8 to 10 W are together at the L end of the open cir. The lead W holds the last M hand.

METER/RHYTHM:	4/4

STEPS/STYLE:	The style is happy and lively with much hand clapping and obvious enjoyment. During Fig I, there may be a slight stamp on the R as the knee makes slight flexion, and there may be more of a flexion of the L knee as weight is taken on the L.


MEAS	MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION


	INTRODUCTION

1-4	On recommended recording, the orchestra tunes up for three measures, then there are 4 meas introduction without action.

I.	WALK RIGHT AND LEFT

1	Facing slightly and moving R in LOD, step R (ct 1); step L next to R (ct 2); step R (ct 3); step L next to R (ct 4);
2-4	Repeat action of meas 1 three more times, turning to face to the L on the last step;
5-8	Repeat action of meas 1-4 in opp dir but with same ftwk.

II.	M ELBOW REEL WITH W

1-8	All dancers realease hands and clap as the lead M skips over to the other end of the line with hop-steps and, choosing any W, hooks R elbows. This cpl skips CW for one meas and, hooking L elbows, skips CCW for one meas.

	The lead M then continues on to another W and repeats the same CW/CCW turning with her as the first W chosen returns to her orig place. The lead M continues this reeling with other ptrs leaving enough time to skip back to his orig place before the next 8 meas begin.

	Repeat the entire dance from beg except that the first W chosen now skips across (instead of a M) and selects any M ptr of her choosing and dances the reel as did the lead M before.

	On the next repeat of the dance, the M chosed on the first repeat now skips across, and so on and so on.