Women's Dance Traditions of Uzbekistan

The first comprehensive work in English on the three major regional styles of Uzbek women's dance - Ferghana, Khiva and Bukhara - and their broader Silk Road cultural connections, from folklore roots to contemporary stage dance. The book surveys the remarkable development from the earliest manifestations in ancient civilizations to a sequestered existence under Islam; from patronage under Soviet power to a place of pride for Uzbek nationhood. It considers the role that immigration had to play on the development of the dances; how women boldly challenged societal gender roles to perform in public; how both material culture and the natural world manifest in the dance; and it illuminates the innovations of pioneering choreographers who drew from Central Asian folk traditions, gestures and aesthetics - not Russian ballet - to first shape modern Uzbek stage dance. Written by the first American dancer invited to study in Uzbekistan, this book offers insight into the once-hidden world of Uzbek women's dance.

Laurel Victoria Gray is a past Adjunct Professor of Global Dance at George Washington University, US, and of Dance of the Islamic World at George Mason University, US. Honors include Uzbekistan's Xalqlar Do'stligi "Friendship of the People" medal (2022), Fulbright's Selma Jeanne Cohen International Dance Scholar Lecture (2009). In 2007, she was named Honorary Professor at the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts and Culture in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She has been the founding Artistic Director and choreographer for Silk Road Dance Company in Washington DC, US, since 1995. http://www.laurelvictoriagray.com http://www.silkroaddance.com www.uzbekdance.org

List of Illustrations ix Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvi Notes on Translation, Transliteration, and Honorifics xviii Timeline xx PART ONE HIDDEN ROOTS 1 1 The Goddess and the Dancing Boys 3 2 The Primacy of Rhythm 27 PART TWO THE DANCE ZONES 41 3 Ferghana Dance 43 4 Bukhara and Samarkand 55 5 Khorezm Dance 83 PART THREE FROM THE ICHKARI TO THE CONCERT STAGE 97 6 Mentors and Martyrs 99 7 Cross-Pollination: Moscow and Paris 111 8 From Revolution to Evolution 121 PART FOUR TERROR AND WAR 135 9 Uprooted: Koreans and Crimean Tatars 137 10 The War Front and the Home Front 149 PART FIVE THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING 159 11 The Blossoming of the Bakhor Ensemble 161 12 Constructing Karakalpak Dance 179 13 Kizlarkhon Dusmukhamedova-"Queen of All the Girls" 189 PART SIX FROM RED STAR TO CRESCENT MOON 197 14 New Celebrations for a New Nation 199 15 Conclusion: Lessons of Resilience 209 Glossary of Dance Related Terms 214 Bibliography 217 Index 236