Music, dance and storytellingEurope
Lipothymiarikos
In its own language: Λιποθυμιάρικος (Χορός της νύφης)
A men-only Greek wedding dance where one dancer pretends to faint and springs up
The Lipothymiarikos, also known as the dance of the bride, is a Greek wedding dance kept for the small hours of the night. Men alone dance it, and one of them acts out a bride's faint before rising to dance again.
When is Lipothymiarikos kept?
Lipothymiarikos is kept in the small hours of the night, at a wedding reception.
Late on a Greek wedding night, once the party has been dancing for hours, the men take the floor for the Lipothymiarikos, which is also called the dance of the bride. The name gives away its joke: the dancer at the head of the line plays out a bride's collapse, sinks down, and lets the others fuss over him before he springs back into the steps.
The bride's dance
Two Greek names are given for this dance: Λιποθυμιάρικος and Χορός της νύφης, the second of which means the dance of the bride. English speakers tend to meet it as Horos tis Nifis or as Lipothymiarikos. The link to a wedding sits in the title itself, because the mimed collapse at its centre copies a bride who has fainted. This is a dance for men only, and it belongs to the reception rather than to any earlier part of the wedding day. The sources do not say how old it is or where it began.
Two parts
The dancing has two halves. In the opening half, every man on the floor moves together, keeping to the steps of an existing dance, the Syrto Sta Dio. The second half changes shape: the others stand back and the leading dancer works alone, following a free melody and no longer holding to the group's rhythm. He is the man who carries the collapse. Once the music shifts again, he is up and back in the Syrto Sta Dio, and the line is moving as one. The sources describe no costumes, no instruments and no songs for the dance.
The mimed faint
In the solo half the leading dancer lets himself fall to the ground, copying a bride's fainting spell. The men with him behave as a worried crowd would, closing in and trying to rouse him. Two details come from the sources: he may have water splashed over him, or take a light slap, given in fun rather than in earnest. Nobody watching is meant to think the faint is real. As soon as the tune turns, he is on his feet dancing again. The sources say the sequence can happen two or three times while the celebration lasts.
Among Greek dances
The sources list this dance among Greek dances and give it no other setting than the wedding floor. Its first half uses steps from the Syrto Sta Dio, so the group part follows a pattern that other Greek dancers also use, while the free melody and the acting fall to the leader alone. Nothing is recorded about regions or islands where it is danced, nor about families or villages that claim it. It appears in the sources as a short description with a reference list and a pointer to Greek dancing more broadly.
How Lipothymiarikos is kept
Men only take part. They start together, stepping through the Syrto Sta Dio. Then the others fall back and the leading dancer continues on his own, following a free melody. In the middle of that solo he drops to the floor, playing a bride who has fainted. The men around him close in and try to rouse him. Water may be splashed on him, or he may be given a joking slap. When the music changes he leaps up and rejoins the steps of the Syrto Sta Dio, and the whole thing can be done two or three times.
When and where
It belongs to the small hours of the night at a wedding reception, once the celebration is well under way. The sources tie it to no date, season or feast day, and give no month for it. Its timing follows the wedding, and a wedding can happen at any point in the year.
The sources present it as a Greek dance and place it at wedding receptions. They name no region, island, town or village for it, and no country outside Greece. Nothing is said about how widely it is known today, or about different versions kept in different places. The picture the sources give is a single setting: the floor of a wedding party in the small hours.
What Lipothymiarikos means
The dance turns on a bride's faint. One man acts the collapse out, and for a moment the others behave as though it were real, gathering round and trying to rouse him. Then the joke resolves: he stands and dances. The splashed water and the friendly slap belong to the same humour, which needs a wedding crowd to land. The day's most solemn moment, a bride overcome, becomes something the men can laugh at together late in the night.
Questions people ask about Lipothymiarikos
When is Lipothymiarikos kept?
Lipothymiarikos is kept in the small hours of the night, at a wedding reception.
What is the Lipothymiarikos?
It is a Greek wedding dance, performed only by men. It is kept for the small hours of the night at a wedding reception. One leading dancer acts out a bride's faint, and the men around him try to rouse him before he gets up and dances again.
Who takes part?
Men only. Everyone joins the first part, which uses the steps of the Syrto Sta Dio. The leading dancer then performs the second part alone under a free melody. When the music changes he rises and the group dances together again.
Why does the leader fall down?
He copies a bride who has fainted. The collapse is acted, not real. The men with him may splash water over him or give him a joking slap, and when the tune changes he jumps up and dances. It can happen two or three times.
Where is it kept?
The sources present it as a Greek dance, kept at wedding receptions. They do not name a region, town or village for it, and they give no founding story or date. No country outside Greece is mentioned.
See also
LibationThe ceremonial gift of drink given to deities, ancestors, and the earth
Rite of passageA ceremony that marks leaving one group and entering another, with a new status
Heraean GamesAn ancient Greek festival of running races for unmarried young women at Olympia
AnthesteriaAn ancient Greek three-day spring festival of Dionysus, new wine, and the deadGood reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Lipothymiarikos", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-10.
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