page_title: Sousta
section_title: Regional variations
hierarchical_section_title: Sousta / Regional variations
caption_attribution_description: 170207-N-OX430-311 CRETE, GREECE (Feb. 7, 2017) Sailors from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) participate in traditional Greek and Cretan dancing during a Morale, Welfare and Recreation tour of a Cretan village. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daniel Gaither/Released)
context_page_description: Sousta is a Greek folk dance, performed at weddings as an activity of courtship between husband and wife. It originates from Ancient Greece, and holds prominence in Dodecanese Islands, and broader Aegean region. It is the second most common Greek dance, after the Syrtos, with many Greek islands and villages adopting their own version. The performance of the dance reflects various gender roles, inter-played with values of romance and marriage. The Sousta acted as a socialisation process between the youth of a village, evolving into a dance central to these youth as they grew up and formed relationships with others. Socially, the Sousta also functioned as a visible verification of courtship, namely paying respects to the wife and her family. The Sousta is most commonly performed as a three-step dance, with a 'hopping' motion and crossed-over hands.
  There are elements of eroticism and courtship acted out in the dance, which is usually performed by pairs of men and women dancing opposite. Another form is where all the dancers in a row follow the first dancer who moves in complex patterns. Almost every island of Aegean has a sousta dance.
context_section_description: The Sousta exists with differing variations throughout Greece and the wider Balkans. However, there are officially acknowledged versions of the dance, which range from Crete, Rhodes, Leros, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kos, Tilos, Samos and Symi.
  There are some documented versions adapted to the mainland. These include the region of Thrace in north-east Greece, and Macedonia.
caption: Cretan dancing couples and costumes
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