tehran dance
20 02 2008[By Shideh] The art of dancing is truly a gift. It is an amazing feeling - the power in group dances - especially the ones with lots of energy, movement, singing, colors, and joy. I only saw these dances in Indian movies when I was a kid - we never had that experience growing up in Tehran. It seems as if Tehran is the America of Iran, where many people from different villages, cities, and provinces migrate to in order to provide better opportunities for their next generation. It is a busy city with lots of people, high rises, and traffic jams. Tehran has become the melting pot for the country, a city where people from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures, languages, and costumes from around the country migrate to and learn to live next to each other. But in many cases, these individuals sadly forget their own backgrounds and costumes. As a result Tehran may have lost its own unique identity. Perhaps it’s hard to define it or perhaps this is what Tehran’s identity is: a melting pot. But why didn’t I, as a Tehrani girl, ever experience a Tehrani group dance like kids who lived in Gilan, Mashhad, south Bandars, or the nomads of Qashghai experienced?
photo courtesy of Ballet Afsaneh
Now in Berkeley, I am learning dance techniques of classic Persian, Qashqhai, Gilani, Tajik, and Afghani for the first time! And I realize what I had missed all my life. There is so much energy and unity in these dances that words can’t express.
Why not come up with a Tehrani group dance that can create this sort of synergy among the youth of this city? I would argue that group dance would help solve many of the problems that young people are currently facing, such as group work, confidence, and hope. In order not to cause any problems, the classes could be designed for males and females separately. And this group dance could be colorful even though Tehran and most other cities in Iran have widely lost their old costumes and are using western outfits. And even though most people in Tehran seem to have become extremely “black” oriented – meaning they mostly or only wear dark and black dresses and mantos (overcoats). Perhaps new costumes and dresses could be designed that fit in with the exiting young culture of Tehran - costumes that are a combination of old Iranian and Western styles, but with lots of colors this time. Imagine what a beautiful dance that would be!
Salam Shideh Jan:
What a sweet post and what a wonderful idea!
Persian dance is a somewhat lost art form, unfortunately. I have listened to masters and people “in the industry” talk about this endlessly. In fact if one were to see true Persian dance, they might have to travel to Tajikistan to see some remaining forms of it. After Islam was mandated on Iranians, dance was banished as seductive, and therefore a “sinful” activity. When a people don’t practice any of their art forms, that art dies. About 70 years ago, Iran had a dancing renaissance which not only encouraged social dancing of any kind, a branch of it was dedicated to revival and re-introduction of Persian classical dance, a revival which unfortunately suffered tremendous setbacks over the past three decades.
Though some dance moves (they call them “Harakat-e-Mozoon” are allowed to stage, dancing continues to be a perilous profession and art form in today’s Iran. I have a young friend (well, o.k. she is my son’s friend, but has become my friend, too!), who dances with Farzaneh Kaboli’s dance company. One time the entire cast, including the director, were arrested ONSTAGE at Vahdat Hall and taken into Vozara! My other friend who used to dance with Pari Saberi’s group told me that the actors had to be vigilant and only if there were no Ministry of Guidance Inspectors (Mommayez-e-Ershad, and don’t ask me how they could tell if one or wasn’t in the theater) in their midst, the dance parts were done more vigorously and a bit faster!
I listened to Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam, dancer and choreographer, talk about this subject a few months ago. He believes that Persian dancing left Iran and went into India to become the Indian dance, full of signals and meaningful steps, and to Spain, where it became flamenco. He believes that Persian dancing would have looked something in between the two very different dance styles. He says and he and some other people are researching those steps and moves, hoping to re-create them as choreographers.
Mehdi Jami, who now runs Radio Zamaneh, but for many years worked for the BBC and covered dance all over the world told me that some Tajiki dancers had travelled to Iran over the past decade, hoping to take some lessons in Persian dancing to perfect their already marvelous dance repertoire (Tajiki, Uzbek, Afghani, etc.). He said the dancers complained that they could not find one master who would teach them any moves or with whom they could train.
So, having said all of that, we can’t really put all the blame on Tehrani’s or on what people do today. This sad state has been in the making for 14 centuries. To look at the positive side of things, Iranian dance is among those dances where men and women dance it together. Unlike, for example, belly dancing where women dance half-naked and men sit and ogle, Persian dance invites both men ad women on the dance floor, and has them interact very nicely through moves and feelings. Other Iranian dances which are co-ed, are eye-pleasing and exciting for the same reason; among them I can name Kurdish and Asyrian dancing, where the moves are done in a line or a circle.
OK. I talked too much. Sorry. Dance excites me and I can’t stop talking about it. When we see each other, we can talk some more. Where in Berkeley do you go to class? Maybe I can come, too!
Take care Shideh Joonam.
Dearest Nazy joon,
thank you for your great comment and all the information. It was really educational. I can tell that you are fascinated with dance from the way you talk about it. You are absolutely right about the history and how dancing became a sort of lost art in our country.
For the first time in my life, however, I met a group who seem to know what they are doing and they have extensive research programs in Tajikstan on Central Asian Dance and Classical Persian Dance that has been preserved in a few villages in Tajikstan (khoshbakhtaneh). This group is based in the Bay Area and they are called “Ballet Afsaneh”. I go to their classes in Berkeley every week, and we are performing at the San Francisco City Hall and the New York Norouz Parade for the Persian New Year. This group has really changed my life and I’m so thankful for their existance and expertise.
Are you interested to come to this class with me? if so, let me know and I’ll give you more details. It is a loooooot of fun
thank you again Nazy joon, take care, and hope to see you soon