Dancing in the Desert:
1996 Central Asian Dance Camp
by Beatrice Rose

The first annual Central Asian Dance Camp, held last August near Santa Fe, was a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Laurel Victoria Gray, with the assistance of Travis Jarrell, shared her vast knowledge of this form generously with full-time campers and a few part-time locals. The artists’ community where we stayed, Synergia Ranch, was developed by a couple who had been to Central Asia and were influenced by the culture and architecture. Thus we danced in costume, under a great arch in the courtyard, just as it is still performed in places like Bukhara.

The camp was promoted as a "total immersion in Central Asian culture." It lived up to this claim. Even when we weren’t in class, which was seldom, Laurel and Travis continued to share their personal experiences of the people and customs. Evenings were filled with videos, women’s rituals, and costuming presentations. A shopping trip to the annual Santa Fe Indian Market was included.

The limited number of participants allowed Laurel to be sure that we truly understood the material. We learned complete choreographies of Ferghana Uzbek, Persian, Tadjik, and Bukharan, accompanied by a cassette of all the music used and complete notes on choreographies and costuming beautifully presented in notebook style. Some of the participants stayed an extra day to learn Russian Gypsy dance.

This truly unique dance camp will be limited to 25 participants in 1997, so don’t procrastinate in securing a place if you are interested in expanding your dance knowledge in these areas and sharing the legacy this great teacher has to offer.

Beatrice Rose is a performer and teacher who lives in Oregon.

The 1997 Central Asian Dance Camp
by Linda Swanson

Peshanabands! Each day after lunch we sat outside under the big clear New Mexico sky and made our own peshanabands (those elaborately decorated banded crowns with veils worn by dancers in Bukhara)! Surrounded by boxes of richly colored fabrics, glittering trims and gaudy/elegant trinkets, we let the morning choreographies sink into our bodies even as they were resting for the afternoon's study...

Such was the rhythm of the 2nd annual Central Asian Dance Camp held August 7-10 outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico—four wondeful days immersed in this vitally connective dance.

Laurel Victoria Gray taught two compelte and very different choreographies—Classical Persian and Khorezm Uzbek—the first very fluid and lovely, the second a fascinating combination of relaxed and taut; Travis Jarrell worked with us on folkloric Bukharan movements.

Both teachers rounded out their clear instruction of form with the ideas behind the movements and with a sharing of their own personal and extensive dance experienes studying and performing in Uzbekistan.

My favorite part of class each day was the meditative "Persian Miniatures" etudes. Both a sequence of movement and a warm up/mental preparation devised by Ms. Gray, they helped immensely to "place" us before we began the Persian choreogrpahy.  

Other activities included the viewing of "on site" videos of native Uzbek dancers, an opportunity to buy costume items, videos and music, and an afternoon of sightseeing in nearby Santa Fe. Camp participants were provided with detailed handouts and music for the choreographies studied.

And the peshanabands? Well, we wore those a few evenings later at a public concert in Santa Fe entitled "Crossing Cultures: An Evening on the Silk Road." Laurel Victoria Gray and Travis Jarrell presented dances, solo and duet, that were magical, transformative, and that clearly illustrated what we'd been striving for all week. And for the last dance, there we students were—on stage in our peshanabands (and borrowed elaborate costumes) backing up Laurel and Travis with folkloric Bukharan movements and long swinging braids!

See you next year at Central Asian Dance Camp. It's and experience not to be missed!

Linda Swanson is an artist, dancer and writer who lives in New Mexico.