Hi Laurie. Other than Greek dancing, I've only dabbled in international folk like Romanian or Bulgarian, but I love the music and the mood of the little bit I've done. I did a lot of English (country dancing, Morris, and sword) in my teens, and I've done tons of American contras and squares. Any place that has belly dancing also has Greek dancing as well as a few other Middle Eastern dances, so I know those since I am/was a belly dancer.
Just as an aside, I recently went to the 80th birthday party for a guy who was big in the Greek/Armenian music scene in New England in the 50s, 60s, 70, and 80s, and it was a lot of fun hearing all the people who were part of it talking about what it was like back then. And here's a bit of fun trivia for you: the woman who appears on the cover of a 1958 record called "The Seventh Veil" as a Solome type dancer, is now the official witch of Salem, Mass.
There's another thread where I was saying something about stage presence, and when I think about it, all the different types of dancing each have their own persona that I put on when I do them. The mood of the dance is reflected in posture, facial expression, footwork, energy level and so forth. I think this adds a lot to your own enjoyment and how good you look. It would be sort of fun to try to figure out what "feel" each of the different international dances has.
Gee, I must be really anxious to avoid getting to work if I'm babbling on so! In any case, good luck with your music search!
