Persian Dance

[Meera]

Sorry if this was posted before but I tried to search and nothing came up. But I've recently become interested in Persian syle dance. Some people say this is Bellydance but others say its not? My Iranian freidns tell me there is a such thing as "Persian" bellydance. I been trying to look it up but haven't found anything. Does anyone know anything about it?

 

[Darshiva]

Try searching for 'persian dance' instead. The friends are right - it really deson't come under the umbrella of 'bellydance' although some persian styles are offered as workshops at bellydance festivals (eg: baba karam) and are taught by bellydancers - but the same can be said for burlesque.

 

[Kashmir]

Depends how you define "belly dance". There is a solo, improvised, torso intensive dance style in Iran. It as much belly dance as, say, Schikhatt - but many people would not call Schikhatt bellydance either.

Unlike Arabic belly dance the emphasis is not so much on the hips as upper body and face. A well known expert on Persian dance is Robyn Friend. Check her site on Robyn Friend, Ph.D -- Persian and Iranian dancing and singing

 

[PracticalDancer]

Katayoun is a local dancer who is Iranian and teaches both Egyptian and Persian dance. This page of her site has a section for Persian. If you click the link for the notes, it will download to your computer and then give you a nice overview of the steps, suggested music, etc.

Here is one video: ‪Katayoun Persian‬‏ - YouTube

I had the honor of studying with her a few years ago when my troupe hosted her, and she taught in 2 sections Egyptian, then Persian. And we got to see each style in the performance.

If she looks familiar, she was also on the Project Bellydance competition!

Regards,

Anala

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Amani Jabril is also a Persian dancer. I've taken a workshop with her and she's great. You can find her on YouTube, Facebook and she also has a website, not sure the exact site names but if you do a search, you will find her.

 

[Yame]

Depends how you define "belly dance". There is a solo, improvised, torso intensive dance style in Iran. It as much belly dance as, say, Schikhatt - but many people would not call Schikhatt bellydance either.

I've never seen solo improvised torso-intensive dancing from Iran. Of course, just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist... but can you tell us a bit more about that? I'm curious.

All of the Persian dancing I've seen so far was not belly dance. But I don't know much about Persian dance, and haven't seen much. I've seen some classical Persian dance (which is so, so lovely... I wish I could find classes around here) and some Baba Karam.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Persian dancing is mostly a lot of movement above the waist, however, I have heard recently that the newer dancers are now using hip movements, so this may be a new form of dance and they call it Persian bellydance.

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

There is a solo, improvised, torso intensive dance style in Iran.

Do you know what they call this, because I've never seen it, and I'd like to.

 

[Marya]

Katayoun is a local dancer who is Iranian and teaches both Egyptian and Persian dance. This page of her site has a section for Persian. If you click the link for the notes, it will download to your computer and then give you a nice overview of the steps, suggested music, etc.

Here is one video: ‪Katayoun Persian‬‏ - YouTube

I had the honor of studying with her a few years ago when my troupe hosted her, and she taught in 2 sections Egyptian, then Persian. And we got to see each style in the performance.

If she looks familiar, she was also on the Project Bellydance competition!

Regards,

Anala

thanks for posting this link, I have studied Persian dance with Helene Eriksen and Laurel Victoria Gray and this resource is just a wonderful addition to the notes from their classes.

Marya

 

[Kashmir]

I've never seen solo improvised torso-intensive dancing from Iran. Of course, just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist... but can you tell us a bit more about that? I'm curious.

The dance I saw was taught to a belly dancer by an Iranian woman. I cannot be sure how much of it was modified by the dancer's own background. However, it does sound very much like what I have read by Robyn Friend and Laurel Victoria Gray. The dance has a very different feel; do they call it charm? It includes mime and very little hip movement. But it was improvised and torso intensive - but very different from dances which are related to raqs sharqi.

 

[Meera]

Thank you all for the helpful replies I was very curious about Persian dance.

 

[El Layali]

Hi all
I can assure you there is no such thing as Persian bellydance. It's Persian dance, plain and simple. Hope this helps
Leila

 

[walladah]

Well, there is no such thing as Turkish bellydance

for Turkish people at least... or Egyptian bellydance for Egyptians....

Bellydance was constructed in Middle East in connection to western idea about bellydance.

In Middle East, just like in Persia, there are women's/ladies' dances of each area/region, f.ex. women's dances of Egypt.

In that sense, you may watch videos like this and see the elements you are looking for

Persian Dance - YouTube

Persian Dance-Ghajar ??? ?????? ????? - YouTube

Schachlo persischer Tellertanz - YouTube

A hint: in Greece all women, more or less, dance the local version of women's dance but we call it bellydance only when it takes place in a westernised context: sequins-beads bra and belt, probably with movements that are not so "traditional", usually on stage or separared from public, etc. THis is why Egyptian women, when they dance not in such a context, they will never accept that they bellydance.

 

[Meera]

Hi all
I can assure you there is no such thing as Persian bellydance. It's Persian dance, plain and simple. Hope this helps
Leila

Thanks Leila, I was very confused, I was with a friend of mine and she kept telling me that a certain dance was Persian Bellydance but it looked like Egyptian Bellydance to me. Thats why I asked

 

[Meera]

for Turkish people at least... or Egyptian bellydance for Egyptians....

Bellydance was constructed in Middle East in connection to western idea about bellydance.

In Middle East, just like in Persia, there are women's/ladies' dances of each area/region, f.ex. women's dances of Egypt.

In that sense, you may watch videos like this and see the elements you are looking for

Persian Dance - YouTube

Persian Dance-Ghajar ??? ?????? ????? - YouTube

Schachlo persischer Tellertanz - YouTube

A hint: in Greece all women, more or less, dance the local version of women's dance but we call it bellydance only when it takes place in a westernised context: sequins-beads bra and belt, probably with movements that are not so "traditional", usually on stage or separared from public, etc. THis is why Egyptian women, when they dance not in such a context, they will never accept that they bellydance.

Thanks for this!

Sorry for the double post, I dont know how to put two qoutes in one post

 

[Greek Bonfire]

The costuming is much different too, nothing with a bedlah. Louchia also does Persian dance. I'm not in a position to look for a link but I have seen her perform and it definitely did not resemble bellydance like we know it today.