Zorba's Dance

"Zorba's Dance" (Greek: Ο Χορός Του Ζορμπά) is an instrumental by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis.^[1] The song featured for the dance, which has become known as sirtaki, in the 1964 film Zorba the Greek, for which Theodorakis wrote the soundtrack^[2] and became renowned around the world. It is now commonly played and danced to in Greek tavernas. The film's track has since been recorded as a standalone song by many different musicians from around the world.^[3]

Recorded versions[]

• In the US, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass recorded a 4:25 version of the song (as "Zorba the Greek") for their 1965 album Going Places.^[4] Issued as an edited single with live audience dubbed in, the song reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 2 on the Easy Listening chart.^[5]
• The tune reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1965, performed by Marcello Minerbi & His Orchestra (Durium Records DRS 54001).^[6]
• The composition provided the inspiration for "Bend It!", a 1966 hit single by British group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich that reached number 1 in Germany, New Zealand and South Africa.^[7][8][9]
• The British dance act LCD covered the song in 1998. Their version peaked at number 20 in the UK chart that year, and at number 22 when re-issued in October 1999.^[10]

Sendero Luminoso[]

• The song is particularly infamous in Peru for its association with Sendero Luminoso.^[11] In the early 1990s, excerpts of a video of Sendero Luminoso's leadership dancing to the song during a celebration was given to the media, showing that the organization's heads were hiding in middle-class districts of Lima itself.^[12]

Other appearances in popular culture[]

• The song was featured, among others, in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and in the "Subdivision" episode of Prison Break, where Charles "Haywire" Patoshik raided a fast food joint and gorged himself on soda and ice cream.
• The instrumental was also performed as the interval act Folk Dances From Different Countries by the Igor Moiseyev Ensemble^[13] in the 2nd. Semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia.
• The track was also used for the Greek entry in the Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 held in London, United Kingdom performed by Ourania Kolliou and Spiros Pavlidis^[14] as their 2nd. dance, placing 13th. with 31 points.

References[]