Uzbekistan Embassy Celebrates Women’s Uzbek Dance Traditions
By Elaine Pasquini
Photos by Phil Pasquini
Washington: Furqat Sidiqov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the United States, hosted an evening celebration of Uzbek dance at the embassy on May 22, 2024. Dr Laurel Victoria Gray, author of Women’s Dance Traditions of Uzbekistan: Legacy of the Silk Road, was the honored guest.
The result of her 55 years of research and exploration in Uzbekistan and around the world, Gray’s endeavor on the roots of Uzbek dance traditions is the first comprehensive book in English that delves into the origins of the three major regional styles of Uzbek women’s choreography, namely, Ferghana, Khiva, and Bukhara. “Each region has a different character, different history, and completely different dance styles,” Gray told the audience of diplomats, scholars, ethnic dance enthusiasts, students, journalists and friends of Uzbekistan gathered in the embassy’s grand drawing room.
The book also explores the dances of other regions and cultures, including Karakalpak, Turkmen, and Tatars. “Every culture dances,” Gray noted.
Different chapters highlight the pioneers of Uzbek women’s dance who drew from Central Asian folk traditions. Describing the decades-long struggle of women dancers to perform on a concert stage and be a vital part of society, she stressed it was “a very difficult journey.”
Gray devoted one chapter in her book to musical instruments and the importance of the many unusual rhythms found in Uzbek music and dance.
The author is a professor of world dance at George Washington University and a past adjunct professor of Dance of the Islamic World at George Mason University. In 2007, she was named Honorary Professor at the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts and Culture in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“It’s wonderful to share a lifetime passion of mine and what I think is the great national resource of Uzbekistan, and that is its women,” she said.
Members of the Silk Road Dance Company delighted the audience with performances illustrating the dance genres described in the book which Gray elaborated on in her presentation. The dancers’ rendition of the Bukharan choreography, in particular, drew thunderous applause from the enthusiastic audience. Gray has been the artistic director and choreographer for the Silk Road Dance Company in Washington, DC since 1995.
In closing, Ambassador Sidiqov thanked Gray, the dancers and the audience, emphasizing that “The strong women of Uzbekistan make Uzbekistan strong.”
Following the presentation, guests enjoyed delicious Uzbek cuisine, including plov, the iconic national dish of long-grain rice, vegetables and meat. And prior to departing, attendees mingled with the author and dancers, as well as Ambassador Sidiqov and embassy attachés.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
