By Mike O'Sullivan,
VOA, Los Angeles
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| Uighur dance |
The music and dance of Iran, Afghanistan, China, and
other stops along the ancient trade route known as the Silk Road were recently
on display in California. The Festival of the Silk Road brought together
immigrants and others to celebrate the cultures of the Eurasian trade route.
The one-day festival featured music and dance from
Azerbaijan, from India and the Uighur people of Central Asia.
The network of trade routes known as the Silk
Road stretched from Europe and the Middle East through India to China.
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| Azeri dance |
Merchants and missionaries shared their languages
and cultures as they traveled along the ancient trade route. Many immigrants to
the United States have roots in the region, and they came to share their
traditions.
They brought colorful handicrafts. Cameron
Douraghy, who is of mixed Persian and American background, displayed
English-language comic books based on Persian myths, which he publishes with his
brother and a friend. A woman in traditional clothing sold textiles from
Uzbekistan.
But the highlight of the festival was an evening
performance of music, dance and poetry.
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| Farima Berenji |
Iranian American dancer Farima Berenji, one of the
performers, has studied the arts and dances of many Silk Road countries.
"Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, China, all the way to
India," she said.One modern dance shows
the blend of cultures.
Dancer and choreographer Wan-Chao Chang is
ethnically Chinese, but her family has lived in Indonesia. She blends both
cultures in dance. "I am very fond of their movement and their similarity, and
also some charms that you don't find in other ethnic dances," she said.
Nearby, Neema Hekmat is tuning his santour, a
Persian hammered dulcimer. An engineer by training, he has loved Middle Eastern
music since he was a child. "The sounds just made me feel a certain way. It
touched me. So I decided to play the Persian dulcimer just because it has a
great effect on me. It was mesmerizing, the sounds," he said.
The music and dance drew a variety of people with
one thing in common: a fascination with Silk Road cultures, says Mehran Ebrahimi,
who plays a Persian drum.
"They give me a good feeling because they really
come and ask about our instrument - 'what is that? How do you play? This is
really great.' And that makes us feel good," Ebrahimi said.
An Afghan music group includes a cousin, nephew
and a friend. Tameem Afzali was American-born, but has played Afghan music for
15 years. "The interest [in Afghan music] was just amazing for me, to just start
learning the tablas [hand drum], learning how to sing and learning how to play
the harmonium. I just really dove into Afghan music wholeheartedly," Afzali
said.
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| Sharlyn Sawyer |
Sharlyn Sawyer founded the dance troupe called
Ballet Afsaneh in 1986 to promote the music and dance of the Silk Road in the
San Francisco Bay area. She produced this festival, and says California is a
good location for it. She says the West Coast state is part of a modern Silk
Road.
"There are so many people that come together,
this confluence of culture, people experiencing others' culture and
incorporating ideas, exchanging inspiration as artists. There's such a wonderful
opportunity for that when you bring people together, very much like the Silk
Road historically has been through the ages," she said.
She says she hopes to make this celebration of
Silk Road music and dance an annual event.
