The hyporchema (Greek: ὑπόρχημα) was a lively kind of mimic dance which accompanied the songs used in the worship of Apollo, especially among the Dorians.
A chorus of singers at the festivals of Apollo usually danced around the altar, while several other persons were appointed to accompany the action of the song with an appropriate mimic performance.
It had, according to the supposition of Müller, like all the music and poetry of the Dorians, originated in Crete, but was at an early period introduced in the island of Delos, where it seems to have continued to be performed down to the time of Lucian.
The first poet to whom such poems are ascribed was Thaletas of Crete: their character must have been in accordance with the playfulness of the dance which bore the same name, and by which they were accompanied.
The fragments of the hyporchemata of Pindar confirm this supposition, for their rhythms are peculiarly light, and have a very imitative and graphic character.