Pentozalis is a folk dance from Crete (Greece).

Its name means ‘five steps’ (πέντε [pente] ‘five’ and ζάλος [zalos] ‘step’), and it’s a very swift and lively dance, which allows for improvisation.

In the following video the dancer is accompanied by a Cretan lyre (a bowed instrument), a mandolin and a lute.
The tune is progressively faster and faster and is mainly played by the Cretan lyre, while the plucked string instruments (mandolin and lute) make the rhythm percussively.

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