Women’s Dance Traditions of Uzbekistan: Legacy of the Silk Road

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 Adjunct Professor of World Dance at George Washington University, US, and past Adjunct Professor of Dance of the Islamic World at George Mason University, US. She has been Artistic Director and choreographer for Silk Road Dance Company since 1995.