or, Tsifteteli

A rhythm and a Greek social dance with its roots in Rembetiko culture. (Rembetiko is a form of urban blues performed in the 1920s. There is a movie of the same name about a singer from Smyrna and her life in Athens to her death.) Tsifteteli as a dance has a similar movement vocabulary to Raqs Sharki - shoulder shimmies, figure 8s, hip circles (but not shimmies). For additional information, read the very nice article at Orientaldancer.net

The rhythm is 8/4 and can be played fast or slow:

D t t D t D D t

D tkt t tkD t tkD D t

Rhythm reference sites are all over the web.  A nice one is at:

http://www.dorku.com/Catalog/Search/chiftitelli/