Ok everyone so I tried this new Greek Translation service as I have this fun sounding Greek Song I love (and wanted to use to belly dance for an Orlando Wedding) , but had no clue what it said as it was in a remix version.My good friend and Baltimore Belly Dancer Amartia started offering Greek song translation services for dancers not too long ago, so I thought to myself, why not try it? I was really happy with the whole experience so I thought I would share as we dancers sometimes do not find correct translations online, and there is often no indication on how we should express the music emotionally.
So if you perform at Greek Restaurants or parties it is SUPER important to take this into account and make sure you get a darn good translation.
What To Expect
The whole process was actually really simple. I emailed Amartia with the music file and asked for prices. I ended up selecting the “It is all Greek to Me” package as I wanted not just the lyrics but was super curious about what her mom had to say.
Yep that’s right, her mom! Her mom who is a diehard Greek will also review the song and tell you how to express the song so you do not misinterpret it and look foolish (sooo important).
There are cheaper packages, I believe it starts at $10 for a translation and phonetic spelling, but as I said, I really wanted to know what her mom had to say for when I performed it so I chose the $25 one. So I sent my invoice and waited…
After a couple of days, I received my email with the translation, phonetic spelling (thank goodness because I totally butchered the words before lol) and her moms two cents.
It was hilarious!! Amartia was super nice and spunky the whole time as always, and gave me a translation that made sense (not one of those google translated style “translations”), and her mom gave me some nice insight as well: instead of just being happy and smiling I should also perform to the piece like I am very proud. Something I would NEVER had gotten just on my own. So cool!
So overall I really recommend this to dancers. If you are going to perform at a Greek Restaurant, gig, or like me, have to Belly Dance for an Orlando Wedding that is Greek themed, make sure you do not take any risks and know what the song not only means, but can deliver the intention behind it!
