Uzbek Dance and Culture Society

Thank you for your interest in the 17th Central Asian Dance Camp. We have had to adjust the dance class schedule because of quarantine restrictions in Uzbekistan. The country will open up certain aspects by August 20th, so our first dance session - taught remotely from Tashkent - will take place on August 22nd. And because of the 9 hour time difference, we will be offering only morning dance sessions.
ENTRAL ASIAN DANCE CAMP
August 14th - 30th, 2020
Suggested donation levels:
DANCE SESSIONS for $35 per session.
LECTURE SESSIONS for $10 each.
Please indicate CODE for each class you wish to attend.BONUS sessions free to all registered for at least one class.
Class times are Eastern Standard Time.
Register with payments through PayPal to silkroaddance@aol.com or at
link below

Friday, August 14 7:00pm: BONUS EVENT
Greeting by Ambassador Vakhabov & Virtual Embassy Tour

Sunday, August 16 1:00pm: BONUS EVENT
Virtual Silk Road Bazaar

Wednesday, August 19 7:00pm
Uzbek Dance History Lecture by Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray
CODE: History819

Thursday, August 20 7:00pm: BONUS EVENT
Plov Making Demonstration with Uzbek Embassy Chef

Saturday, August 22 9:00am - 10:30am
Khorezm Lazgi Class Part One
CODE: Khorezm815A
with choreography by People's Artist of Uzbekistan Kadyr Muminov

Saturday, August 22 1:00pm: BONUS EVENT
Cultural Presentation by Author Marina Abrams
"In Search of Embroidery and Silk"

Sunday, August 23 9:00am - 10:30am
Khorezm Lazgi Class Part Two
CODE: Khorezm815B
with People's Artist of Uzbekistan Kadyr Muminov

Wednesday, August 26 7:00pm
Central Asian Costuming Secrets plus All About Braids
CODE: Costume826

Saturday, August 29 8:00am: BONUS EVENT
Virtual Tashkent Museum Tour

Saturday, August 29 9:00am - 10:30am
Bukharan Dance Class Part One 
CODE: Bukharan816A
with People's Artist of Uzbekistan Kadyr Muminov

Sunday, August 30 9:00am - 10:30am
Bukharan Dance Class Part Two
CODE: Bukharan816B
with People's Artist of Uzbekistan Kadyr Muminov

Sunday, August 30 @ 12noon BONUS EVENT
Virtual Chaikhona with Camp Participants & Special Guests

               Click link below to register
                     for classes & lectures

Virtual Silk Road Bazaar
August 16, 2020 @ 1:00pm

Although the 17th Central Asian Dance Camp has been postponed until September, you still have an opportunity to shop for costuming, fashion, and decor, as well as chat with the vendors.

HOW TO ATTEND:
Please send your request to silkroaddance@aol.com and we will send you a ZOOM invitation for this event.

LECTURE by Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray
"Decolonizing Uzbek Dance:
Honoring the Roots of Gesture"
August 19,2020 @ 7:00pm EST

This lecture responds to assertions that contemporary Uzbek stage dance is an artificial Soviet-era invention and examines pre-revolutionary dance traditions among the Central Asian women. Gray proposes a more nuanced understanding of the origins of the gestural heritage of Uzbek dance that reflects traditional life ways, making it a vital element of cultural expression.
REGISTRATION: $10
By Alana Hayes
Silk Road Dance Company (SRDC) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! And, you’re all invited to the party! Welcome! Please, come in. Find a chair. Yes, this is the party. Take a seat. Grab a kebab. There will be a fundraising auction at the end of this event. I’m kidding, there won’t be an auction. This is the party though! Hosted by, yours truly, The Haifa Girls. If you would like to help support Silk Road Dance Company and their efforts for the preservation of women’s culture along the Silk Road, then you can right here.

Silk Road Dance Company is based out of the DMV (DC metro area). The company was founded in 1995 by Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray, who also happens to be a Professor of World Dance at George Washington University. I met Laurel while I was still in college (I went to UMBC) through a friend who danced in her company and I immediately fell in love with Silk Road. I loved their mission, I loved that it was a cultural organization, I loved the dances, the clothing, and Laurel herself. She’s just such a knowledgeable person and she’s so passionate about what she does that you can’t help but fall in love with all of it too.

      CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

The Golden Road to Samarkand

February 22, 2020 @ 2:15 pm  Tickets $25
Atlas Performing Arts Center
1333 H Street NE
Washington DC 20002
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

News on 16th Central Asian Dance Camp!

Press coverage on the CADC held on August 9 -11, 2019 in Washington, DC, at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Book Donations Sought for Uzbek Dance Academy!

Picture
Dear Metro DC  Area Dance Colleagues! Uzbekistan's Academy of Dance seeks books about all kinds of dance, in all languages. If you live in the Metro DC area and would like to donate to their library, please contact us at silkroaddance@aol.com to coordinate donation delivery in DC. We will arrange delivery to Uzbekistan. #UzbekDanceBookDrive

Dance Journey Along the Silk Road Concert

Photo Credit:  Jeff Malet
Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray has little down time. “In the past 10 days,” said the founder and artistic director of the Silk Road Dance Company [SRDC], “we had a performance at an Afghan wedding, another at the Embassy of Uzbekistan. I presented an academic paper at the annual conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society. I gave my GWU Global Dance History students their midterm — and graded and returned it. Then, I started work on a new choreography commission from the local Persian community.

The 24-year-old SRDC presents traditional and contemporary women’s dances from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and the Caucasus. Its goal, said Gray, is to “offer a unique glimpse of little-known cultures, especially the Islamic world.”
The ensemble — which has performed at the White House and the Kennedy Center as well as at events for embassies and cultural organizations in the Iranian, Turkish, Arab and Central Asian communities — will bring “Dance Journey Along the Silk Road” to the Takoma Park Community Center on the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 2.
“We are happy to return to this venue for the fourth time,” said Gray, adding that more than a dozen dancers will perform a program of “dances chosen to feature some of our newest choreographies as well as some very special but seldom-performed treasures.”

Among the company’s repertoire of 200 dances from the ancient civilizations of the Silk Road she chose for the Takoma Park performance are “Turkmen, Uzbek (group and solo), Uyghur by guest dancer Irfan Otkur, Azerbaijani, Tajik from Pamir region, Kurdish, Afghan and a Zoroastrian-inspired piece.”

A native of Spokane, Washington, Gray has studied dance continuously since age 6. She has earned multiple academic degrees, including a doctorate in history. Since relocating to the D.C. area in 1995, the founder of the Uzbek Dance and Culture Society has taught at George Washington University, Joy of Motion Dance Center, Joe’s Movement Emporium and through Holy Cross Senior Source.

To support her historical research, teaching and choreography, Gray has traveled extensively. Her journeys to five continents – among them, 14 visits to Uzbekistan — also enabled her “to amass an immense and stunningly beautiful collection of antique [dance] costumes.”
During its two-plus decades, SRDC has evolved. Noting a “shift in the ethnicity of the dancers. Iranian born and Iranian-American dancers, along with Russians and Central Asians, frequently ‘outnumber’ local Americans,” Gray concluded, “This helps deepen the cultural connection and knowledge.”

Gray is disappointed in what she considers an “odd sort of relationship with the so-called ‘mainstream’ dance community that focuses on our costumes, but not our dances.” She attributes it to a cultural disconnect, a lack of understanding that “Central Asian, Turkic, Arab and Persian dances have a different aesthetic. They are usually improvisational in origin and require a deep connection to music and poetic lyrics. Movements are subtle and delicate. The face dances as well. The stage is used less because the dance is more internal.”

“Dance is more than just movement,” Gray added. “It is the literally embodiment of culture. There are subtleties of holding the body, even in greeting each other, that are embedded in dance movements.”

With SRDC, Gray strives to share the heritage of the “often-overlooked, rich and varied dance legacy of the 50 Muslim-majority nations,” she said. “The costumes are part of the dance, helping shape the movements. We hope for a more nuanced understanding and appreciation for these genres.”

Next year, the company’s 25th anniversary, means more items for Gray’s lengthy to-do list. “We have exciting programs planned.” Although details are not yet ready to release, she “can say [that]‘shortly before the 2020 presidential election … we will premiere a new concert work, ‘Visions From the Book of Omens,’ that draws on the Safavid Persian and Ottoman Turkish tradition of the Falciyar (fortune teller) who used bibliomancy to predict the future.”

Uzbekistan Heritage Night Dance Concert

The beauty and grace of traditional Central Asian dance came to the stage with a performance by the award- winning Silk Road Dance Company. The concert celebrated traditional women’s dances of Uzbekistan, providing a glimpse into a culture unfamiliar to most Americans. Post concert photo with Fairfax County MC, Lassine Doumbia.

The Golden Road to Samarkand!
Saturday May 11, 2019  

THE GOLDEN ROAD TO SAMARKAND concert, presented on May 11, 2019, was a timeless journey in dance to the heart of Central Asia and a fabled city at the crossroads of many cultures. Perfr4omances by Silk Road Dance Company and guest artists Gulder Dance, Irafan Otkur, and Parnika Murthy were shared in Uzbek press. The Embassy of Uzbekistan generously provided authentic Uzbek plov for all who attended the evening performance.  A buffet of Silk Road cuisine from Marco & Polo Restauran was available before the afternoon matinee concert.

A timeless journey in dance to the heart of Central Asia and a fabled city at the crossroads of many cultures. Directed by Laurel Victoria Gray and featuring Silk Road Dance Company with special guest artists.

DC Turkish Festival
Sunday September 29, 2019  Performance time TBD

This popular annual festival features dance and culture from the Turkic World, including Central Asia. It is held on Pennsylvania Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets NW, in front of Freedom Plaza and two blocks from the White House. Parking is available on side streets in the area. Metro use encouraged.

Past Events

Nowruz Concert at Yale University
Saturday April 21, 2018

Performances of Persian and Central Asian music and dance by Silk Road Dance Company and Gairatjan Rozi, followed by a reception with Persian cuisine.

Textile Museum Family Day
Explore the World of Central Asia
April 14, 2018

Family Day: Explore the World of Central Asia
The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum
Saturday, April 14 ∙ 11:00 am ∙ FREE!
Featuring the Silk Road Dance Company
Central Asia was at the juncture of many trading routes along the Silk Road. This area produced beautiful products like textiles, which were easy to transport. Join us for a free family day celebrating the art and cultures of Central Asia. Enjoy performances of Uzbek dance by the Silk Road Dance Company, try hands-on art activities, and explore the exhibition Binding the Clouds: The Art of Central Asian Ikat. Free, no reservations required.

4th Biennial Silk Road Dance Festival
Wedding in Bukhara
Saturday February 17, 2018  7pm

News from the
Uzbek Dance and Culture Society
Picture
May 14, 2016 -
​A capacity crowd filled the Takoma Auditorium for the
"Dance Treasures of Uzbekistan" concert, part of the We Are Takoma series. In addition to beautiful dances presented by Silk Road Dance Company in traditional costumes, audiences members enjoyed a stunning film about the historic cities of Uzbekistan. After the concert, the Embassy of Uzbekistan hosted a reception featuring Uzbek cuisine.
  • August 5, 2014.      The Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Washington, DC, presented Silk Road Dance Company in an all-Uzbek concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.    
    VIEW DANCE CONCERT   AT THIS LINK




  • February 19, 2015. An Edwardian Evening Along the Silk Road was presented at the Arts Club of Washington, DC. The concert invited guests to travel back in time to hear the adventures of Swedish explorer Sven Hedin - "the last great explorer" - who mapped vast expanses of the Silk Road. His riveting accounts of explorations from 1885 to 1908, were illustrated by traditional dances places he visited, including Bukhara and Samarkand. Special guest artists, Tabla for Two, provided mesmerizing Afghan music and set the mood for an enchanted evening.                                                                                 

  • September 28, 2014. The traditional Uzbek folklore dances and costumes were presented by Silk Road Dance Company at the 12th annual Washington, DC, Turkish Festival. Highlights included a Bukharan Mavrigi dance performed in antique costumes

Tashkent Celebration of the 100th Jubilee
of Uzbek Dancer and Choreographer
Mukarram Turg'unb0eva

Silk Road Dance Company
Kicks Off Silver Anniversary at
Intersections Festival

 February 18, 2020 by Leslie Holleran

What better way to launch a dance company’s 25th year than with a sumptuous performance? And so, Silk Road Dance Company will perform The Golden Road to Samarkand at Atlas Performing Arts Center’s Intersections Festival in Washington, D.C., on February 22.
 CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE

Discover Uzbek Dance!

Picture
Founded in 1985, by Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray the Uzbek Dance and Culture Society builds bridges of understanding between East and West through the preservation and promulgation of traditional Central Asian arts.

Activities include cultural exchange programs, concert tours, lectures, dance demonstrations, master classes with leading Uzbek artists, and other events. 

The Uzbek Dance and Culture Society (UDCS) organized the  U.S. tours for the "Artists of Uzbekistan" (1989) and the "Uzbekistan Folklore Ensemble" (1990), as well as assisting with the 2001 Kennedy Center concert by Tashkent's Ensemble Munojot.    

In 1988, at the invitation of Uzbekistan's Union of Theatrical Workers, the Uzbek Dance and Culture Society traveled to Uzbekistan and Georgia. The historic 1989 delegation, with 30 participants, returned to Uzbekistan to work closely with artists from Tashkent's professional theatres. 
 
Since 1995, the Central Asian Dance Camp has provided opportunities for Americans to study traditional Uzbek, Tajik,  Uighur, Afghan and Persian dance with master instructors. The first camps took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, then relocated to Washington, DC, where they have been held at various locations, including the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan. (See photos below from 2000 and 2019.)







Central Asian Dance Camp venues are usually spacious dance studios with mirrors. Meals prepared by professional chefs are often provided for the partipants. A Silk Road Bazaar offers dance costumes, music, and other hard-to-find items for sale.
 
The Uzbek Dance and Culture Society has hosted leading Uzbek artists including Qizlarhon Dusmuhamedova, Qadir Muminov, Viktoria "Violat" Akilova, Shakir Ahmedov, Habibulla Rasulov,  as well as the Uzbekistan Dance Ensemble.

American Dance Group presents Uzbek Dance
​in Washington DC

Follow us on Facebook for updates, photos, & videos!