Different manifestations of dance education in modern Greece
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The article below was originally written in the form of an undergraduate assignment for the Greek Open University in 2008, during a period when the author's academic skills were still under development. Although the quality of this article does not match the quality of later examples of the same author's work, it is written in a thorough manner and contains useful information to nowadays students and other readers with non-specialised knowledge; therefore, it has been proudly included on this website.
The reader needs to be warned that the original assignment, on which this article was based on, was written in Greek and was intended to be read by specialised academics. Despite the author's best intentions to present his essay in the clearest way possible, some points and arguments might still be lost in translation. The author recommends that for any unknown words or specialised vocabulary, the readers should refer to the web for additional information.
The author admits that the bibliography for this article is limited, matching the requirements of an undergraduate assignment of this level. The author did not include any additional bibliography during the translation of his work in English due to time and access limitations. It must also be noted that the original bibliography for this article was studied from translated copies in Greek; therefore, the page numbers suggested in the citations below match the page numbers of the translated copies and not the original volumes.
Introduction
This article discusses the different manifestations of dance education in Greece during the transition to the 21st century. Here, the term dance education is not limited to private dance schools, athletic unions and competitive dance events. Dance education is discussed through multiple perspectives, which focus on dance as a broader social practice, included in theatrical plays, cinema, music festivals, folk celebrations, nightlife and television broadcastings. All these media contribute to the transmission of dance education in the modern Greek society.
The paper is divided in four sections. The first section examines the contribution of dance schools and dance institutions in Greece during the last decades of the 20th century. Their contribution is noted in four dance genres: ‘artistic’, urban-folk, traditional and foreign. The second section discuses the importance of dance as a form of social expression. It explains the ways in which dance is transmitted to the audience and other participants in music festivals, theatrical plays and folk celebrations. The third section discusses the social, yet mimic, character of dance practice in nightlife and youth entertainment. Such entertainment associates with the younger generations and contributes to the dissemination of new ideas in dance practice, which are often tied to specific social ideologies. The forth section discusses the contribution of modern media in the spread of dance education in modern Greece, with particular reference to television. This spread is mostly tied to the commercial exploitation of dance practice according to market strategies, which are promoted by the media industry. At the end of the paper, there is a final section, which presents a summary and some brief conclusions in relation to the modern dance education system. The summary also compares some social factors, which enhance or distort the assimilation processes of dance practice in modern Greece.
Modern dance schools in Greece
The first independent dance instructors and dance schools appeared in Greece during the 1920s; however, their official recognition as regulated art schools by the state was a lot later. In general, the legislation and official framework for the operation of such schools, and also the networks of official support, were never in place until the 1980s. The first dance schools in higher education were legislated in 1983; they were placed under the supervision of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, which established specific operation guidelines, teaching materials and exam schedules (Tsatsou-Symeonidi 2003, 156-70).
According the the official guidelines, Greek dance schools are primarily expected to teach Western ‘artistic’ dance, which associates with important modern dance movements in Europe. Unfortunately, nowadays there is a general misconception about ‘artistic’ dance in Greece, which is broadly described as ‘ballet’. The term ‘ballet’ in modern Greece has become synonymous to higher education, connected with the economic and social elites. The popular perception of modern ‘ballet’ is a series of dancing exercises, which are part of rythmic gymnastics and differ little from the Olympic sport.
In its historical course, ballet was developed in 19th century Europe and was directly associated with opera. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were two styles of ballet: Russian and German. The latter was highly influenced by Romanticism and was also the first to be introduced in the early Greek state. The evolution of 19th century ballet led to modern ballet and several other forms of Western artistic dance, such as the expressive dance, the ‘American’ dance, the German Tanztheater (or dance theatre) and the American post-modern dance, which characterises the last few decades (Tsatsou-Symeonidi 2003, 156-70).
In practical terms, modern dance schools and dance unions in Greece tend to mainly teach traditional folk dances, followed by foreign dances, which are the aforementioned developments of classic ballet. The teaching of artistic dance in Greece has always been rare due to a number of historical reasons: firstly, due to the absence of formal dance practice during the Byzantine era; secondly, due to the loss of contacts with the West during the Ottoman occupation period; thirdly, due to the sudden intrusion of foreign artistic dances in the newly founded Greek state; fourthly, due to the political divisions between ‘traditional’ and ‘artistic’ dance styles in modern Greece; fifthly, due to the broader neglect of artistic dance by the mainstream media; and finally, due to the non-existence of an updated higher education framework concerning dance practice in modern Greece. The above reasons probably caused a delay in the development of artistic dance in Greece, which was not noted in other genres of dance practice (Tsatsou-Symeonidi 2003, 179).
The greatest efforts in the promotion of artistic dance in modern Greece are primarily by State Dance Institutions, and secondarily by few private and independent dance groups. The National Theatre and the Lyric Scene of Athens strongly promote plays of ‘classical’ art until nowadays, which attract a significant number of viewers. An important innovation of the National Theatre was the integration of artistic dance in modern adaptations of ancient Greek drama. Particularly after the 1980s, artistic dance classes have been introduced in most drama schools in the country, which allow the younger generations of actors to be able to perform the choric parts of ancient Greek tragedies and comedies. Other dance institutions, such as the Centre of Classic Ballet, the Aenaon Dance-Theatre and the State Theatre of Northern Greece promote a variety of artistic dance styles. A supplementary role in the spread of artistic dance in Greece is played by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, which often sponsors the studies of young dancers by state grants. Additional publicity to artistic dance is provided by the local municipalities, which sponsor dance competitions and other events. An example is the annual competition for young choreographers, which was introduced in 1989 by the Municipality of Athens (Tsatsou-Symeonidi 2003, 174-8).
Although there has been significant efforts during the last three decades towards the cultivation and promotion of artistic dance genres in Greece, the commercial preferences of the consumers have been different. Most of the Greek audience tends to approach private dance schools in order to study traditional folk dances, which are combined with other urban-folk styles. Such genres have been heavily combined with a social demand for the preservation of Hellenicity, which is part of the Greek cultural identity (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 35). The traditional folk dances, have been heavily modified and formalised for the needs of teaching; in fact, one can claim that they have almost expelled their originality, in a way that they are no longer traditional but only seem traditional on the outside. Such genres tend to be called ‘folk-like’. Their transformation is due to the disengagement of dance practice from the social occasions, social context and social requirements, which once served the needs of traditional communities within their confined geographical boundaries (Gyftoulas 2003, 228). If this situation was to be described in simpler words, one would have had to imagine a traditional dance brought into an urban art studio, to be taught to students of different social, cultural, geographical and economic backgrounds. The formalisation required for the teaching of this specific dance would have undermined the special symbolisms that were once projected by it in the rural societies defining its original context.
Regarding urban-fork dances, which are the zeibekiko, the karsilamas, the chasapiko, the chasaposerviko and the chifteteli, these stand between traditional and popular dance types (Tyrovola, 2003, 127). They were originally associated with the rebetiko music genre, which prevailed in the entertainment of the ‘urban-folk’ social groups of the late 19th century (Tyrovola 2003, 131). At the time of writing of this paper in 2008, the above dances were the most popular in contemporary entertainment and night-life. According the author’s personal view, the popularity of such urban-folk dances in the early 2000s was due to the commercial exploitation of urban-folk music, which defined the popular culture of that period. This commercial exploitation generated an interest in the study of urban-folk dances in private dance schools, or the practical mimicking of such choreographies with random improvisations, which was a popular trend amongst amateur dancers in the night clubs of the early 2000s.
As with traditional dances, the social changes that followed the evolution of urban-folk dances between the early 19th century and today, have produced significant modifications in the structure of their choreography. The zeibekikos was a warlike dance, which was originally performed by two dancers, who used to face each other carrying knives or other weapons. In the modern context, it evolved into a highly improvisational dance, performed by a single male dancer (Tyrovola 2003, 132). The karsilamas used to follow common origins and structure with the zeibekikos; however, nowadays there is no difference between their dancing moves. The only practical differentiation between the two relates to the rhythm of their music (Tyrovola 2003, 134-6). The chasapiko and the chasaposerviko have both evolved into a popularised form of syrtaki, which was internationally established through the film Zorba the Greek by Michael Cacoyiannis in 1964 (Tyrovola 2003, 139). The chifteteli is nowadays characterised by numerous variations, which follow a plethora of improvisations ‘built’ upon specific dance moves. The most popular form of modern chifteteli is heavily mixed with elements of belly-dancing and consists of the simplest form of urban-folk dance, which still carries unstructured choreographic features from numerous chronological periods. At the same time, the blending between the chifteteli and the rhythm of the mainland sytros has led to another variation of popular urban-folk dance known as ‘syrto-chifteteli’ (Tyrovola 2003, 144).
It is the author’s personal view that such lesions in the structure of urban-folk dance genres are due to the social multiplicity of the modern Greek society, in which the broader umbrella term ‘urban-folk’ does not represent specific social strata. For example, the ‘lumpenproletariat’ identity, if one decides to use the Marxist approach, does not necessarily characterise the rebetiko culture in modern Greece. In fact, it expresses the needs of different social groups with a simple form of rebetiko, constructed specifically for night-life entertainment, which has already expelled its original social codifications and social norms. In the same sense, nowadays there is no need for the guild of modern butchers to identify through the secret codes of the chasapiko dance (Tyrovola 2003, 138). There is also no need for the mystic symbolisms of specific behaviours, such as the knife-flashing of the ‘efe’ (master or ‘efendi’ in Turkish) in the zeibekikos dance (Tyrovola 2003, 132). Interestingly, the modern Greek society is under the false impression that such dance codes and symbolisms consist of a traditional ‘Greek’ trademarks. The linguistic roots of such dance-names (e.g. zeibeck, karsi, kasap and chiftetelli) most likely show something totally different.
Western dances in Greece are grouped under broader umbrella names, primarily related to their geographic origins (e.g. ‘European’, ‘Latin-American’, etc.), or their chronological context (e.g. ‘modern’, ‘contemporary’, etc.). They all associate with entertainment and its social norms, and they all became popular during the 1960s. Although such dances are commonly promoted as ‘modern’, in reality, they bear no similarities with modern artistic dances. They are characterised as ‘modern’ because of their differences with traditional dances and due to their popularity amongst urban youths (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 187-90).
‘Modern’ dances are popular for a number of reasons. First of all, they promote eroticism due to their confined grips, which are more evident in ‘European’ dances. Secondly, they are renown for the freedom of motion and expression offered by their open grips, particularly in ‘Latin-American’ dances. Finally, they support improvisations and innovations with the use of multiple grips, steps and moves, which have become the trademark of all ‘modern’ dances after the 1960s. The teaching of such foreign dances led to the development of competitive modern dance. This began with informal dance competitions in 20th century ballrooms, and has now evolved into a series of athletic dance styles taught by modern private schools, gyms and other institutions (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 187-90).
Nowadays, the most popular ‘European’ dance in Greece is tango, which is simultaneously taught in its European variation and its Latin-American original form (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 192-4). Tango competitions are also popular, while older ‘European’ dances, such as waltz and foxtrot, have fallen out of fashion. The modern Greek audience is particularly interested in ‘Latin-American’ dances, such as rumba, samba, mambo, cha-cha-cha and bayo. In the recent past, elements from the music of the above dances have been introduced into popular folk-urban songs, which are not necessarily ‘Latin-American’ in their execution, e.g. the so-called ‘Chiotis Mambo’, which carries the particular signature of the composer Manolis Chiotis (1921-1970). The infiltration of ‘Latin-American’ dance forms is also noted in some typically traditional Greek dances, such as the syrtos, which is still subject to constant modifications. A typical example of this amalgamation is the syrto-roumba (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 199-205). The most recent import in 21st century Greece is salsa, which is a typical ‘Latin-American’ dance. As for the ‘modern’ dances, these are by majority of North American origins. They associate with modern entertainment and are practically executed as a series of improvisations, often without specific choreography. Some impressive dances, such as the twist and the rock-and-roll, are still taught in Greek dance schools (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 207).
Dance practice as a social manifestation
Traditional dance is the most popular genre in modern Greece and it associates with a wide range of social events. In the rural areas, traditional dance is a customary or even ceremonial practice, which is tied to important social activities of geographically confined communities (Zografou 2003, 33-7). Traditional dances are executed in public during important religious festivals, such as the name-days of patron saints, or during important social occasions, such as baptising events and weddings. In both cases, traditional dances are parts of popular or ceremonial events, which strengthen the identity of local or regional communities. During such events, the communities also promote their local character and local cultural autonomy, which contribute to the preservation of local cultural identity (Zografou 2003, 33-7).
In the author’s own view, the urbanisation of the last five decades in Greece, and also the spread of popular culture through television, have produced a rupture between tradition and the dance practices of rural Greek communities. In the past, for example, the rural celebrations following religious festivals were dominated by traditional dances; nowadays, however, such festivals seem to have a rather ‘Pan-Hellenic’ dance character. The participant is likely to listen to island-style music and dance ‘traditional’ island dances, even in weddings that take place in the Greek highlands. This homogenisation of ‘traditional’ dances is also likely to be an official state policy in favour of a constructed ‘Pan-Hellenic’ cultural identity, which would override all other local (rural or urban) cultural identities.
In modern rural communities, the celebrations tied to religious festivals or other cult events tend to take place during the summer. This is due to the participation of large numbers of people, who are visiting their home-towns and villages during their summer holidays, as opposed to the participation of few local inhabitants. Furthermore, such celebrations, when performed during the summer, tend to produce significant income to the local communities due to tourism. ‘Traditional’ dances are usually performed during folklore or ‘traditionalised’ festivals, which are different compared to the celebrations during religious festivals. Folklorism is not limited to the exploitation of tourism; it also extends to a form of local revival-cult, during which the members of rural communities maintain the feeling (or perhaps the illusion) that their communities are not alienated (Gyftoulas 2003, 230-1).
The promotion of artistic dance through various social events is almost entirely based on state initiatives funded by the government. During the last years, the Athens Festival promoted by the Hellenic Tourism Organisation attracts famous artists and art groups, which capture the attention of a wide urban audience (Tsatsoy-Symeonidi 2003, 174). The prestige and the official character of such dance events is further strengthened by the use of preserved archaeological monuments, such as the Herodian Theatre at the slopes of the Athenian Acropolis.
The carnival is another important social occasion, which promotes dance, although not systematically. Greek carnivals are characterised by a joyful festive atmosphere, during which ‘Latin-American’ music is combined with the choreographies of Brazilian samba. Such events copy foreign customs and are totally unrelated with the Greek-Orthodox religious context of the Apokria, the traditional equivalent of the carnival in Greece. The spread of the carnival culture in Greece is also assisted by the presence of foreign dancers, particularly samba performers from Brazil, during the celebrations in the country’s most prominent municipalities (e.g. Patra, Drama, Moschato, etc.). At the same time, Greek dancers get an opportunity to practise or even copy the choreographies of the Brazilian carnival dancers, which strengthens their dancing skills and enriches their knowledge (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 205).
Dance practice in modern entertainment
Entertainment is probably the most popular industry, through which dance is communicated to the modern Greek audience. In many Western consumerist societies such as Greece, entertainment and night-life in general are connected with the human need for social contact, through which people seek comfort their daily difficulties, financial worries and work-related stress.
The specialisation of labour in production, the focus on economic growth in contemporary societies, the rules of the market and the strong competition amongst production units, have led modern humans to a form conscious isolation to assist their professional development, which is expressed as an esoteric form of individualism. This way of life, which characterises modern Westerners, is also the case in the Greek society, despite its historical, religious and linguistic idiosyncrasies. Within this context, entertainment consists of an opposite force to social isolation, and serves the human need to exit the boundaries of individuality in favour of social contact. The choice of entertainment is defined by two parameters: firstly, the availability of free time to go out, and secondly, the financial resources to pay for such entertainment (Gyftoulas 2003, 226-8).
The most popular dances in modern Greek entertainment are urban-folk, in most cases either zeibekikos or chifteteli. As explained in the first section, such urban-folk genres have nowadays lost the original character and social symbolisms. Zeibekikos, for example, has evolved into a solo and highly improvisational dance, during which the dancer wishes to exaggerate his ego and stress his position or role in relation to a group of homogeneous consumers. This attitude reflects the broader social isolation of the late 20th century and the promotion of people’s individualities to a point of social reference. In the author’s own view, during such events the dancers’ attempt a show-off through a deeply personal solo dance, which mirrors the broader social agony of modern humans, who wish to escape the dead-ends of their own individual quests. This wish becomes desperate and pointless when combined with alcohol or drug consumption, which happens to be the case in modern night-life.
The second most popular dance genres in Greece are imported and consist mostly of simplified Western rock and pop music hits. Such songs and their dances, which are also improvisational, are widely welcomed by the younger generations, particularly due to their ‘rebellious’ or ‘radical’ mentality. From the 1980s onwards, youth entertainment in disco-bars, music halls and night clubs has become mainstream. Such entertainment follows the most popular, if not most commercial trends of Western-style entertainment (Koutsouba & Lekkas 2003, 212-3). In the author’s personal opinion, modern dance practice in night-life and entertainment is combined with other features of Western consumerist identities. Modern entertainment does not only promote the recycled consumption of music and dance styles, but it also supports the fashion industry, the consumption of pseudo-ideologies (e.g. anarchy and anti-social behaviour in punk music), and finally, the consumption of legal or illegal substances, which ‘assist’ the dancers in their performance. Unfortunately, in the popular urban culture of our times, intoxication and drug abuse have been welcomed as means, which liberate the dancers from the constrains of modern isolation; in reality, this liberty is only a temporary illusion. The above norms are likely to have characterised the Greek context up until the early 2000s. From 2010 onwards, the prolonged economic recession of the new millennium has probably collapsed most of the Greek society’s entertainment codes.
It is important to note that even nowadays, the most popular dance styles in Greece are characterised by a complete freedom of motion and improvisation. This free mobility is absent in other expressions of the Greek daily life, probably due to a prolonged economic recession and the failure of open market capitalism, which in my opinion, is the result of government corruption and institutionalised favouritism. Within this context, modern Greeks are forced to work longer and earn less, which produces a continuous economic uncertainty and social disappointment. Although dance was once seen as a form of relaxation and de-escalation of social pressure, this condition cannot be satisfied any longer, at least in relation to entertainment.
Another problem is that modern societies are almost entirely defined by the relationship between production and consumption of services and material resources. The satisfaction of this relationship does not allow the luxury of conscious free time, during which people can study something new. In modern Greece, dance studies are heavily neglected by the public and are often seen as an expression of elitism. In this context, dance schools have almost been replaced by night-clubs, in which the visitor can notice a modern paradox: the dancers are desperately trying to express their feelings of individuality, but in reality, they are only mimicking the expressions of individuality of the person dancing next to them!
Again, it is the author’s personal view that modern social isolation, which tigers selfish behaviours and a shift towards individualism, is always in conjunction with the cost of socialising, particularly in a heavily consumerist society. For example, the participation in night-life and entertainment in modern Greece depends on various economic requirements, such as following the proper dress-code or booking a table in a popular dance-hall. These requirements produce another form of socio-economic stratification, which is placed within the boundaries of the entertainment zone. In modern dance clubs, one can often notice people who do not participate in dancing, yet they prefer to observe the dancers as passive viewers. This phenomenon is likely to depend on a plethora of psychological, social and economic explanations; however, this needs to be analysed in a different paper.
Dance education in the popular media
When people speak about the spread of dance education by popular media, they mostly mean dance broadcastings in television. Television broadcastings of dance events are powerful as they simultaneously combine motion, music and picture.
In Greek television there are two different tendencies in relation to the promotion of dance education. The first tendency is supported by state television networks, which follow the same approach since the 1980s. The main goal of state television is to promote dance practice as a cultural process: state television sponsors the production of entertaining and educating broadcastings, which are made to promote local culture. In practice, state television offers a plethora of broadcastings for the wide audience, which primarily focus on traditional/demotic dances and could be seen as a form of ethnographic research; they promote Western dances as expressions of ‘high’ culture; they broadcast popular dances related to the convoluted genre of Greek ‘artistic-folk’ music; they broadcast popular events from the ‘re-vie piste’ night-life (or dance-floor events); and finally they support journalism that produces theoretical concerns on modern dance activities (Mitropoulou 2003, 236-7).
The second tendency in Greek television is mainly by private networks, which promote dance as a mean of entertainment, restricting its role to amusement and recreation. More specifically, private television often does live ‘revie piste’ broadcastings, which copy the live music shows of contemporary night clubs. In other occasions, private television networks broadcast shows about music, which are accompanied by dance performances juggling between different ‘folk’, ‘traditional’, ‘modern’ and ‘Latin’ genres. A separate category of popular shows relate to folklore dances and focus in the promotion of dance as a touristic attraction. These shows are usually broadcasted during national celebrations or important religious festivals. The form of dance education promoted by private television is unfortunately lacking originality. Such broadcastings are professionally directed by experienced choreographers and the dances are executed by well-educated and trained performers (Mitropoulou 2003, 237).
In general, private television networks play a dynamic part in modern market economies by supporting the demands of consumerism. In that sense, they cannot be seen as the transmitters of cultural activities, but as the promoters of commercial exploitation, which only focuses on profit. The main income of private television networks comes from product advertisements, the effectiveness of which depends on the number of viewers attending a specific broadcasting. A show on artistic dance, for example, is likely to have less viewers than a show on folklore dance; therefore, the latter is likely to sell better and attract more advertisements for the television network. This rationale shows that television will mostly promote commercial dance genres. A paradox is perhaps the promotion of athletic (competitive) dance events by sport-related broadcastings, probably because of their popularity. Athletic dance is based on artistic dance forms; therefore, without being aware of this, private television promotes a form of camouflaged kinetic artistry. Such sport broadcastings are likely to change the habits of the Greek audience in relation to their appreciation of artistic dance (Mitropoulou 2003, 239-40)
At this point, one needs to consider the latest theories in relation to the influential role of television on its viewers. In the recent past, television was seen as a form of distortion of reality and a danger to its audience, while the viewers were treated as a manipulated mass. Nowadays, social studies accept that the viewers are active receivers of messages, who perceive and interpret them in different ways through a series of complex psychological mechanism, based on personal experiences and other perceptions (Mitropoulou 2003, 238). In the author’s own view, the role of television in modern Western societies is to specifically provide entertainment to the viewers, who are being shaped by individualism and the experiences of rising social isolation. In reality, modern viewers are still after satisfying their needs for socialisation, which is restrained to night-life and popular entertainment. It is likely that television offers a cheaper form of such popular entertainment, which in other occasions, would have been defined by a combination of free time and money dynamics.
Summary and conclusions
Dance education in modern Greece is not only offered by public institutions but also state-recognised private schools; furthermore, dance is practised and communicated to the public in other ‘educational’ fields, such as theatres (e.g. the National Theatre of Greece and the Lyric Scene of Athens), official dance festivals, folk celebrations, night clubs and other popular media (e.g. television). The so-called traditional dances have been, in reality, converted to traditional-like dances, which reflect the broader economic and social distortion of the Greek rural areas. Traditional dances are primarily promoted as folklore events, which aim in the promotion of local tourism and the maintenance of a distinct, if not totally constructed, local cultural identity. Even small-scale local religious celebrations, such as baptising events, weddings and name-days, have nowadays adopted a ‘pan-Hellenic’ dance character. During such events, urban-folk dances are the most popular, particularly those which are repeated in night-clubs and other forms of popular entertainment. Modern entertainment, on the other hand, expresses the peoples’ wish to escape the constrains of individuality. Individuality has already downgraded the nature of urban-folk dances, which have evolved into highly improvisational and egocentric forms of expression. The second most popular dances for the Greek audience are foreign, most likely due to their ideological impact on the youths. In the current education system, foreign dances are divided to artistic, ‘European’, ‘Latin-American’ and ‘modern’. The latter are usually competitive dances, such as the athletic artistic dance, tango and salsa. In night-life, the most popular foreign dances are based on improvisational forms of Western rock and pop music styles.
The lack of free time for recreation in modern Greece, which is the result of long working hours, professional insecurity and economic recession, has converted local night clubs and other entertainment halls to dance schools. In such places, self-projection and show-off, which are seen as expression of individuality, become group-mimicking features of mass culture. The promotion of dance by mimicking others has also become the norm in many social occasions, such as the Apokreo festivals, which copy Brazilian carnivals with samba processions. Finally, television and other popular media follow the tendencies of the market and prefer to promote commercial dance genres, such as urban-folk and ‘revie piste’. Athletic dance is an exceptional case, as its origins are artistic, yet remains a commercial genre with high viewing rates. Although state television used to promote the cultural nature of dance practice in Greece, over the last ten years there has been a change of policy. Regarding the promotion of dance practice in television, the Greek audience is generally receptive; however, the current conditions of extreme consumerism and individualism, combined with a demand for non-intellectual entertainment, have restricted the role of dance practice to recreation. Furthermore, recreation and entertainment still follow the law of production and consumption, which governs the global market and has no quality standards.
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