PERSIAN DANCE: TRADITIONS AND MODERNITY

This article attempts to explore Persian dances in order to determinate its national identity. The authors refer to the semantic core of the lexemes that express this phenomenon, give a brief outline of the genesis and evolution of this traditional physical culture of Iranians, the historical dynamics of its development, consider and group existing types of dance styles. Such a multifaceted approach allowed to study the specifcs of this art and to identify the characteristic features of this language of art in Iran. Ethnic dances reflect the climatic characteristics of the people living environment, the specifcs of its history, culture, beliefs and musical preferences. These include the oldest of all existing types’ ritual traditions, which symbolize worship, offering, dedication, thanksgiving or prayer, as well as folk, classical and modern dances. Persian dance is neither organized nor detailed, which allows, through individual initiative, to contribute to the evolution of the canon. However, like any other kind of art, it requires a serious analysis, and codifcation. Classical dance has developed in parallel with the other authentic cultural materials – Indian and Arabic dance traditions that contributed to the evolution of its forms. Despite their simplicity, folk dances reflect fgurative mythological thinking, religious beliefs, moral and aesthetic values. Their varieties show the whole rich palette of ethnic peoples living in the territory of Iran. Not only individual dance styles, but also a full-fledged cultural rite of passage has become a mystical ritual of rotation of “sama”. Another feature of the Persian scenic and professional choreographic art lies in the fact that at the present stage it develops under the territorial remoteness of its origins.

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