By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

“If I learned it, I think anybody else can,” says South Portland
resident Arthur Linnell, referring to the style of folk dancing that
has kept his feet moving for years.

After attending one of his Greek dancing lessons, however, I learned
Linnell is modest and Greek dancing is harder than it looks, but it is
also a lot of fun. Having attended a few Greek festivals – mainly for
the food – I thought it might be interesting to learn some dance moves.


Linnell is currently teaching Greek dance lessons  to beginners
and the experienced alike through the South Portland Parks and
Recreation Department, located at the South Portland Community Center.

At the end of the class, Linnell encourages his dancers to bring in a
Greek food dish for a glendi or party. At the risk of someone thinking
I was just in it for the food, I decided to attend Linnell’s first
class on Jan. 11.

There’s no need for a partner and the only equipment you will need are
comfortable shoes. I’ll try any type of dance that doesn’t give me the
opportunity to stomp all over a partner’s shoes with my two left feet.

Nearly 80, Linnell took up Greek dancing after he hosted a Greek
exchange student in his home for nearly a year in the early 1970s.
Linnell says he initially reached out to the assistant principal at
Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, who happened to be Greek, for help
communicating with his “Greek son,” Menelaus Carayannisis. When the
assistant principal started an adult education Greek dancing class,
Linnell started attending the classes and says, “I just fell in love
with it and I kept going back.”

“And the instructor said, ‘Hey, you know these dances so well, why don’t you co-teach with me?’” Linnell says.

He’s been teaching to groups of all ages ever since. Linnell doesn’t
claim to be an expert in Greek culture. He’s just out to share the
dance and the music that has captured his soul. I soon found some of
his students have come to enjoy the music as much as he does.

“This is our fourth time, I think,” says Jan Chapman of Cape Elizabeth,
estimating the number of classes she has taken with Linnell.

Bruce Moore, also of Cape Elizabeth, and Edie Tucker of Falmouth have
also taken classes with Linnell before, but Joan Weaver of Stonington
is a newcomer like myself.

“I knew I’d like it because I love the music,” says Weaver. “It’s just
lively and it’s pretty happy. My experience of Greeks is that they
generally have a pretty good time.”

Linnell starts the music, filling the senior wing of the community
center with the sounds of the bouzouki, a long necked lute heard often
in traditional Greek music. I’m suddenly hungry for baklavah, but I
join the others in a line facing Linnell.

We start with the Hasapiko, a dance similar to the Jewish hora, Linnell
says. There are variations of the dance and we start with a series of
steps and small kicks.

The step reminds me of a country western line dance, but then the other
dancers clasp hands and we start dancing the Hasapiko around the room.
As we circle around the room, I notice the other dancers have added a
hop to their steps.  

“You can step into line any time, but don’t step into the head of the
line,” Linnell says, explaining the first person in line is expected to
know the good steps and lead the group in variations of the step.
Laughing, I realize I’m at the head of the line, but luckily I don’t
think anyone is looking to my feet for direction.

There are so many dances, it seems impossible that someone could know
all the variations. Linnell says there are different dances for men and
women and different areas of Greece have their own dances.  

We try another dance with Turkish origins that Linnell calls the
Rampee; instead of holding hands while performing the series of hops
and twists into knee bends, our group forms two lines facing each
other. Tucker and Chapman face Weaver, Moore and I as we step forward
three times on the right foot and lift the left leg in the air. The
lines weave together as we pick up the pace and add more spirit to the
steps.

Linnell says the best way to learn Greek dancing is to do it and after
giving it a try I would have to agree with him. I couldn’t pick up the
steps just by watching. Somehow when you join hands, the rhythm passes
from dancer to dancer and before you can say, “Opa!,” you realize your
feet are actually performing the right steps.

And if you don’t get the hang of it on the first try, don’t worry. As
Tucker says, folk dancing doesn’t discriminate between good and bad
dancers. If you can, let the music transport you to a sun-drenched
villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  I’m sure you’ll be
dancing in no time.

Linnell’s next Greek dance lesson will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. tonight
(Jan. 18) at the South Portland Community Center. Lessons are offered
every Friday evening now through March. The cost is $2 per class paid
directly to the instructor. For more information contact the South
Portland Parks and Recreation Department at 767-7650.