International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue XI, November 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
Dance Stereotypes. Reflection of gender relations in the ‘Karsilama’ dance in Greece
Eleni Filippidou
School of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Abstract: Τhe research field of this paper is the Greek dance ‘Karsilama’ as this is danced in the area of Thrace in Greece. More specifically, the research was carried out in the community of Nea Vyssa, which is located in the northern part of this country. The aim of this research is to study the dances of ‘Karsilama’ in Nea Vyssa, which have rhythm of nine beats (9/8), so that through the analysis of their form, it can be established whether these dances reflect stereotypes of the position of the two sexes in society. The collection of ethnographic data was based on the ethnographic method. Laban’s notation system was used to record the choreographic compositions of ‘Karsilama’ dance, while for the analysis of their structure and form, as well as their codification, the structural-morphological and typological method of analysis was applied, as it is applied in the Greek Τraditional Dance and for their comparison the comparative method was used. Finally, the interpretation of the data was held with the anthropological thinking about gender identity as it appears in anthropological views of dance and particularly in Hanna. From the data analysis was found that the ‘Karsilama’ dances are established the gender hierarchy in the community of Nea Vyssa, highlighting Nea Vyssa in a patriarchal society.
Keywords: Greek Traditional Dance, Ethnographic method, gender identity.
I. INTRODUCTION
The term “stigma” indicates a negative characterization and comes from the ancient Greek word “stizo” which means to carve and which refers to a mark on the skin (Babiniotis, 1998). According to Whitehead, Carlisle, Watkins, and Mason (2001), in ancient Greece the stigma had a religious meaning and involved the carving of a name using a hot iron. This name was engraved on the individuals, in order to show that they had dedicated themselves to the services of a particular temple. However, this concept later changed and took on a negative meaning. Thus the mark on the body now characterized a person as a slave or a criminal, thus signifying their inferior status, so that “others” who did not have the stigma, to avoid him, especially in public spaces (Goffman, 2001). Of great importance, therefore, was not so much the defamatory quality of the stigma brought by the person who had developed some deviant behavior, rather than the negative meaning and treatment attributed to it by “others”.
The modern use of the term refers to certain categories of people, who possess some element of differentiation from “others”,