Trio Hellenique - Dance of Zorba the Greek (1964)

De Dans van Zorba (1964, arr. 1965)

Music by Mikis Theodorakis (1925-2021)
Performed by Trio Hellenique

Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis (Greek: Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης [ˈmicis θeoðoˈɾacis]; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works.

He scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973).

He was a three time BAFTA nominee, winning for Z. For the score in the movie Serpico (1973), he earned Grammy nominations. Furthermore, for the unforgettable score to Zorba the Greek (1964), with its ‘Zorba’s Dance’, he was Golden Globe nominated.

He composed the "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen", which has been described as the "most beautiful musical work ever written about the Holocaust" and possibly his best work. Up until his death, he was viewed as Greece's best-known living composer. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.

Trio Hellenique is a Greek trio that specializes in Greek Sirtaki music, adapted for a Western audience.
Trio Hellenique consisted of Polis Efthimiadis, Basil Nikolaidis and Denis Kavalieratos. They moved to Paris in the early 1960s, and settled in the Netherlands in the mid-1960s, where they were very popular at the time.

They are best known for the hit De dans van Zorba (from 1965). Their version and that of Duo Akropolis and Mikis Theodorakis were listed together in the Veronica Top 40. It had the highest combined rating with the highest number of points ever until April 3, 2012.