Zeybek was a subculture in the Ottoman empire, whose dances were adopted and modified by both Greeks and Turks. One of their warrior dance, was the influence for a solo dance by Greek people of the working class and the underground in port cities, Istanbul and Izmir and after the end of the greco-turkish war and the exchange of civilizations, in Athens mostly but also in Salonica and other cities. It is tied to the music and subculture of "rembetika" and is a solo, improvisation dance, of mascullinity and mostly sorrow, often slow and heavy. It used only be to dance by one man alone, often resulting to a fight if another stepped in the space before the dancer was done. The dancer used to own the stage, yet danced for himself and never for others. The only exception is the variation by two dancers, which is also choreographed. It was and still is the prefered dancing expression of workers, criminals, soldiers and people down in their luck.BTW - what is zeybek?
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