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About the Dance: Costuming From: "Splendors of the Silk Road" by Laurel Victoria GrayCOSTUMING Author's note: Contemporary costumes for Oriental Dance have almost completely lost their truly "Eastern" look. Although the use of fringe is quite ancient and can be seen on depictions of Sumerian goddesses on clay tablets, the modern cabaret costume often looks more like something from Mardi Gras in Rio rather than the traditional dress of the Islamic world. Gone are the elements which for millennia characterized the dress of the Near East, Middle East and Central Asia. These characteristics are: the juxtaposition of contrasting patterns and textures (such as stripes worn with paisleys and floral prints, velvets mixed with satins and brocades); the bold use of unexpected color combinations (such as yellow and purple, red and green, peach and lavender); the layering of garment pieces one upon the other (such as pants, tunic, under-robe, vest, sash, outer-robe); the use of typically Eastern textiles ( such as silk, taffeta, damask, and muslin — many of our names for fabrics come from Persian and Arabic) and the wearing of head-dresses ( turban, fez, kuffiyeh, veil and so on). Tastes and fashions change, but those searching for costuming ideas may find inspiration in the beautiful costumes of the Silk Road region, especially Uzbekistan. A visitor to modern-day Tashkent will notice young women on the main streets during the day dressed as if they were going to an elegant evening party. It not unusual to see someone wearing a long-sleeved solid sequined dress (with modest pants underneath) while waiting on a subway platform early in the morning. Such an ostentatious display is a sign of wealth and status in Uzbekistan (once known as Turkestan) just as it was in olden times. Tashkent, after all, is located on the ancient Silk Road and the importance of elegant and expensive clothing is an established tradition. Some of the earliest examples of intricate textiles in this region come from archeological excavations of pre-Islamic frescoes at the ancient city of Afrasiab, located near present-day Samarkand. These paintings depict courtiers in colorful robes woven with medallions designs depicting stylized animals. Centuries later, in the days of Tamerlane, important guests and heads of state were presented with fabulous robes sewn from silver tissue or cloth-of -gold. Other robes were velvet and decorated with gold thread embroidery. Sometimes coats were given as rewards, especially to warriors who brought the heads of enemies to their sovereign. These robes of honor differed in quality, so that the more heads a soldier turned in, the finer the coat he would receive in return. Craftsmen in the city of Bukhara specialized in the art of zardosi or gold-thread embroidery. Their trade-secrets were jealously guarded and these skilled embroiderers were not allowed to move away from Bukhara. (Women were forbidden from doing this work since it was thought that their touch would tarnish the gold. Today the workers at the Bukharan embroidery factory are women.) Many of the designs used in decorating garments had a magical significance and protected the wearer from evil and illness. Skullcaps and a stiff head-dress called a peshanaband (and sometimes shoes and boots) were also covered with embroidery. |
