1. Geography and History

Although Central Asia is not part of the Middle East, Iran is, and there is a continuum of music and dance cultures that begins in Iran and extends eastward into Central Asia. Central Asia includes Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Pakistan and Afghanistan are also technically part of Central Asia, but I’m not going to discuss them here as their dance traditions are more closely tied with those of Mongolia, China, and the Indian subcontinent. These regions are often connected to countries in Europe and the Middle East through language. Persian and Tajik are Indo-European languages. Turkmen, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Kazakh are all Turkic languages related to Turkish.

Iran, historically known as Persia, boasts a rich and complex history. The Elamite civilization, the Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sassanian Empires were regional superpowers in their time. Apart from a brief period in the 3rd century BCE, when it was conquered by Alexander the Great, Persia was the region’s main power base. It was the heart of the first monotheistic religion (Zoroastrianism), which later became one of the most influential sources for the Abrahamic religions. In later years, the various Persian empires were in conflict first with the Greeks and then with the Romans. In the mid-7th century CE, the region was conquered by the Arabs, who brought Islam with them. But the Persians retained their own language and many of their own cultural traditions. During the 8th to 13th centuries, Persia became a center of science, philosophy, medicine, and literature, contributing significantly to the Islamic Golden Age. From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, it was relatively independent.

Although never a British colony, the country fell under British influence at the cusp of the 20th century, particularly due to Britain’s growing need for resources. During the Pahlavi dynasty, the Shah of Iran tried to implement modernization and secularization, but the Shah’s rule was best characterized as oppressive and authoritarian. As a consequence, a revolutionary movement emerged in the late 1970s to overthrow the Shah. Initially, this was a secular revolution led by leftists, but it was soon overtaken by a radical Shia fundamentalist movement led by Ayatollah Khomeini, which in turn led to the theocratic Islamic Republic that rules Iran today.

Iran is still a very important regional power, but it is frequently at odds with the West, with its neighbors, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and with Israel. It fought a terrible war with Iraq between 1980 and 1988. At the time of writing this, Iran is at war with both Israel and the United States.

Among the countries that historically fell within Persia’s sphere of influence are the nearby Central Asian countries. Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan were all important parts of the Silk Road, which connected Europe and the Middle East to East Asia. All of these countries were conquered during the Mongol invasions of the 13th century CE and were part of the Timurid Empire. The influences of Mongol culture are still evident in the dance and music of these nations, which show significant Mongolian influences, not to mention their historically nomadic, horse-oriented economies.

In the late 19th century, all of these countries came under Russian control, and with the establishment of the Soviet Union, they became Soviet Socialist Republics. While the collapse of the USSR in the 1980s and 1990s gave hope for new democracies in the region, most of these countries have retreated into authoritarian dictatorships based on Stalinist-style cults of personality. In particular, the governments of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have been noted for their authoritarian and oppressive regimes. Turkmenistan has often been compared to North Korea for its isolationist and inward-looking philosophy, with massive censorship and a complete lack of political opposition. Kyrgyzstan has been the one country moving away from authoritarianism. Since 2010, Kyrgyzstan has worked to establish a more stable parliamentary democracy, though it continues to face challenges related to corruption, economic development, and ethnic tensions.

2. Traditional Clothing

Iran is actually a multiethnic country; you have Kurdish people in the west, Azeris and Armenians in the north, and various tribal groups in the east and south, in addition to the people who identify as Persian. So, there is some variation in what is worn across regions, but there are general themes. The men often wear loose-fitting baggy pants (شالوار), a long shirt (کمیز), a vest, and either a cap (کلاه) or a turban (عمامه). They often wear a thick belt around the middle called a kamarband (کامرباند), which gave rise to the cummerbund, now part of formal wear in the West. The most traditional women’s costumes include a colorful floor-length skirt (شلیته), a long blouse, and a vest. Women also wear a headscarf (شال) and sometimes a decorative belt. After the Islamic revolution, women were required to wear a chador (چادر), which was a floor-length black head covering and robe. Today, women often wear a long, long-sleeved coat called a mânto (مانتو), along with a loose headscarf and pants.

The folk costumes from Central Asia reflect influences from their Persian, Caucasian, and Asian neighbors. Women traditionally wear a long-sleeved dress (variously called koylek or kurte) with a fitted bodice and a flared skirt, often adorned with intricate embroidery. Over the dress, a sleeveless, richly embroidered velvet vest (kimeshek, chyrpy, chyptama) is worn. They wear slippers or boots to dance in. A headscarf or elaborate headdress completes the outfit. Men have a long robe (chapan) worn over a shirt and trousers. The chapan is often brightly colored and embroidered. Since the cultures are highly equestrian, men typically wear long boots. Men and women can both wear a squared-off skullcap (variously called toqi, tubeteika, tyubeteika, or doppa). But men have other options, including turbans and felt caps called a kalpak. In Turkmenistan, men are best known for the large sheepskin hat (telpek), which is also worn by their neighbors across the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus.

3. Music

There are two kinds of traditional Persian music. There is classical Persian music, noted for its complex meters and exotic modes (musical scales) that use, among other things, quarter-tone tuning. The classical music is associated with urban contexts. On the other hand, there is also folk music, played in a less formal context and used in the village for dancing. The structures in folk music tend to be simpler and repetitive. The songs also tend to focus more on everyday life, whereas classical music is often tied to Persian poetry and spirituality. The two musical forms, while distinct, obviously have influenced one another. Traditionally, folk music used fewer instruments (such as the zurna and a dohol drum), whereas classical music used more complex stringed instruments like the tar and santur, and more genteel percussion like the daf. Today, one finds traditionally classical instruments also playing folk and dance music. As in most parts of the world, one also finds an increasing electronic influence on folk traditions, with synthesizers and guitars playing a more prominent role, especially at festivities like weddings.

The instruments used throughout the region include plucked string instruments such as the tar (تار), a pear-shaped lute with six strings, and the setar, a smaller instrument with four strings. Similar plucked lutes are the manzur from Uzbekistan, the saz, which is also played in Turkey, the komuz (three strings), and the dutar/dotar (two strings).

• Tar
• Setar
• Dutar
• Komuz

One finds hammered string instruments throughout Europe and the Middle East. The Persian and Central Asian variety is called the santur (سنتور). It’s a hammered dulcimer with a trapezoidal wooden body and metal strings. It is played with two small hammers.

• Persian santur

Bowed instruments are also found. The kamancheh is found throughout the region. It, along with its close cousin, the ghijak, is a spike fiddle with a round body.

• Classical Persian tar and kamancheh

Probably originating in the Caucasus, the duduk/tuiduk/туйдук/düdük is a double-reed wind instrument. One also finds other reed instruments, such as the oboe-like surnay/zurna, which is found throughout the region (see the chapter on the Caucasus for a picture). An end-blown 6-fingered flute, the ney (نی), is also found throughout the Middle East and Central Asia.

• Persian Ney

The daf (دف) is a large frame drum covered with goatskin and played with the hands. It is also found in Anatolia and the Caucasus. The dayereh and doira are frame drums related to the daf with metal rings inside their circular wooden frames. They are played by shaking or striking with the fingers or palm and are used in folk and classical music. The tonbak/zarb (تنبک) is a goblet-shaped drum made of wood with a goatskin head. It is played with the fingers and palms of both hands and is central to Persian classical music and rhythmic compositions. Finally, we have the naqareh, nogora, or nagara kettle drum made of metal or wood with a goatskin head. It is played with sticks and is most likely an import from the Indian subcontinent.

• Persian daf
• Uzbek nogora
• Persian santur and tonbak

4. Dance

4.1. Dance in Iran

Among the majority of Persians in Iran, the most common traditional dance is a solo style distantly related to the Raqs Baladi belly dance, called Ghajar or Raghs-e-shamim. This style is associated with Persian classical music. It is primarily done by women, but they wear conservative dress. It is characterized by flowing movement of the upper body and flowing, snaking hand gestures. Unlike belly dance, there are no hip or lower-body gyrations; instead, the dancers spin and twist their upper bodies.

• Persian classical dance video 1
• Persian classical dance video 2
• Raghs-e-shamim done to more modern music

These days, the religious authorities disapprove of dancing in public, especially when the genders are mixed. In 2023, several people were arrested for dancing in public in Tehran. Things appear to be less strict among ethnic minority communities.

Bandari, a dance from the south of the country, is more like traditional belly dancing. It’s a lively dance characterized by energetic movements, often performed by women, featuring swaying hips and vibrant but modest costumes. Unlike classical Persian dance, bandari dancing often involves hip and shoulder gyration.

• Bandari dancing video 1
• Bandari dancing video 2

The dancing of the Kurds is discussed in more detail in the chapter on Anatolia, but there are Kurds in western Iran, too. So, I’ll briefly mention them here. Like their cousins in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, the Sorani Kurds of Iran dance in lines holding hands closely together. The dance lines are gender-segregated as would be expected in conservative Iran.

• Sorani Kurdish dancing

There is also an Azeri minority living in the north of the country. Their dances are very similar to those done in Azerbaijan (see the chapter on the Caucasus).

• Azeri dance in Iran

There are several minority groups that live in the southwest of the country. These include the Lori/Luri, who speak an Indo-Aryan language, and the Qashqai, a Turkic-speaking group that claims to be originally from Azerbaijan. The dance styles of these people often involve a circle of solo dancers who wave silken handkerchiefs as they dance. This is indeed reminiscent of some of the elegant arm motions found in Caucasian dancing.

• Qashqai dance video 1
• Qashqai dance video 2
• Lori dance
• Raqs e Chupi (رقص چورپی)

The tribal groups in the far east of Iran, centered around the town of Torbat-e Jam, have their own unique style of dance. Done as a circle of individuals, typically holding sticks, they move in a circle with acrobatic moves, creating rhythms with their feet and sticks.

• Torbat Jam video 1
• Torbat Jam video 2

4.2. Central Asian Dance

Being at the crossroads between the Middle East, the Caucasus, and East Asia, it should be no surprise that the dance styles of Central Asia are also a mélange of the dance styles from these various regions. One dance found throughout Central Asia is the Lazgi/Lezgi/Лезги, which is considered a traditional folk dance by the Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Turkmens. It is clearly related to the Lezginka of the Caucasus.

• Uzbek Lazgi

Influences from the other direction are seen in the horsemen-style dances that likely came with the Mongols. The national dances of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz peoples are the Kara Zhorga/Kara Jorgo/Кара Жорго or “black stallion dance”. This style of dance is characterized by sharp movements of the body, particularly of the shoulders and head, combined with smooth arm gestures. It is very similar to the Meshrep of their Uyghur neighbors in China and to the Biyelgee (Биелгээ), the national dance of Mongolia.

• Kara Zhorga video 1
• Kara Zhorga video 2
• Kara Zhorga video 3
• Mongolian Biyelgee (Биелгээ)
• Uyghur Meshrep

Further Reading

• Shay (2022, 1999). See References for full citations.
• https://kyrgyzstan-tourism.com/blog/kyrgyz-traditional-clothing/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luri_dances
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torbat-e_Jam

Some Suggested Dances for Teaching

The following links take you to descriptions and instructions from my website, Folk Dance Musings, for dances appropriate for teaching to new dancers.

• Raqs E Churpi
• Kara Jorgo