Rooted in an ancient culture with a complex past, Persian dance is an elegant art form highlighting delicate hand flourishes, intricate arm embellishments, ecstatic turns, and engagingly coy facial expressions. Emphasis is on subtle, fluid articulations of the upper torso as the dancer creates moving sculptures, gliding across the floor or sinking languidly into graceful extensions.
Replete with devotional resonance, Persian dance embodies ancient mythical allusions and spiritual longing through fluid shape-shifting.
With whispers of Zoroastrian and Sufi symbology woven into the aesthetic, Persian art dance shares metaphysical roots with the spiritually-infused traditions of Persian music and poetry. The dancer as an idealized embodiment of ethereal beauty conveys the emotional sentiments of the music and poetry, which reflect themes of longing and surrender, and the intoxication of sacred union with the Beloved.
In sweet anticipation, the lover prepares to meet her beloved through adornment and maquillage (application of make-up). In her polished face is the reflection of divine beauty, much as Sufis polish the nafs (ego) as one would a mirror to reflect divine light more clearly.
Royal Persian Paintings The Qajar Epoch 1785 – 1925
With a coy demeanor, the dancer’s skill lies in improvisation and the expression of a range of emotions on the spectrum of both spiritual and human love, including including yearning and rapture.
In contrast to Arabic dance with its earthly emphasis on hip articulations, Persian dance is more delicate and features the face, hands, and arms most prominently. The professional dancer’s vocabulary may also include back-bends, floating and gliding movements, as well as complex turn sequences and whirling.
