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Press
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Ministry of Culture Honors Laurel Victoria Gray in Uzbekistan
Tashkent, Uzbekistan - At a formal ceremony on August 29, 2007, at the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts, American choreographer Laurel Victoria Gray was awarded the title of ''Honorary Professor''. This prestigious award -- a post-doctoral degree second only in rank to ''Academician'' -- recognizes Dr. Gray's achievements in preserving and promoting Uzbek dance and culture throughout the world.
The degree was awarded under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Academic Council of the Uzbekistan State Institute of Arts named for Mannon Uygur.
Founded in 1945, the Institute of Art, attracts talented young students from throughout Central Asia, training them in all aspects of the performing arts, cinema, theatre, and television.
Since 1979, Dr. Gray has been actively involved with cultural exchange between the United States and Uzbekistan. While living in Seattle, she served on the board of the Seattle Tashkent Sister City Association.
She also founded the Tanovar Dance Ensemble which specialized in Uzbek dance. She arranged the 1989 \''Artists of Uzbekistan\'' U.S. tour that culminated in a performance at the Smithsonian. That same year she headed the historic Seattle Soviet Theatre Arts Exchange which presented concerts at venues throughout Tashkent; in 1990, she coordinated the West Coast tour of the Uzbekistan Dance Company. In 1994, Gray established the annual Central Asian Dance Camp, offering classes in Uzbek dance technique and choreography to
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DC Examiner Article on Silk Road Dance Company
‘Axis of Evil’ dancers come to D.C. cultural ground zero
Nov 20, 2007 by Harry Jaffe, The Examiner
WASHINGTON - I’m not sure where President George Bush was noon last Wednesday, but I do know where he should have been — watching lovely women performing seductive, might I say entrancing, dances from the part of the world he keeps threatening.
Dressed in flowing silk dresses, flickering with sequins, ringing with tiny bells, the dancers stooped and twirled and mimicked the making of silk in their native lands in and around Persia — what we now call Iran.
“We call ourselves the ‘Axis of Evil’ dance company,” artistic director Laurel Victoria Gray told the noontime crowd that had come to see her troupe. Around 150 people sat in the brand new Sidney Harman Center on F Street for the first Happenings at the Harman.
Laurel Gray was joking, of course. Gray’s group is the Silk Road Dance Ensemble, an award-winning, tiny company based in Washington. But her dancers do perform pieces from lands along the ancient Silk Road, from China to Europe. These lands might be better called Bloody Road these days; they cut through Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
All joking aside, the dance ensemble’s appearance last week at the Harmon was a sort of cultural explosion in downtown Washington, thanks to the expanded Shakespeare Theatre. Last month, the theater company opened its new Harman Center for the Arts, around the corner from its original Lansburgh Theatre. This month,
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Hurray for Bollywood
This article by Meghan Welsh
previews Laurel Victoria Gray's
Bollywood dance workshop
''Hooray for Bollywood''
in Washington, DC, area.
http://dcist.com/2008/05/02/hurray_for_boll.php#more
PHOTO of Silk Road Dance Company by Laurel Victoria Gray
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Pravda Vostoka Article on Uzbek Dance and Laurel Victoria Gray
Russian language article from 1984
on Laurel Victoria Gray and her Seattle-based dance ensemble, Tanovar.
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Bollywood Dance in Washington DC
The Washingtonian Magazine takes a look at the Bollywood classes offered in the DC area, including the performance classes choreographed and taught by Laurel Victoria Gray at the Joy of Motion Dance Center.
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Bollywood Dance Interview with Laurel Victoria Gray for Japanese Website
by Noriko Miyagawa
Bollywood Dance in the Washington DC area was the topic of an interview with Laurel Victoria Gray for the Japanese website
trendy.nikkeibp.co.jp
Laurel explained ''for women, Bollywood dance satisfies the hunger for revealing their feminine side. It is nice to create a sort of virtual village society when we dance together.''
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Egyptian Newspaper Article on Silk Road Dance Company in Samarkand Festival
Review of Silk Road Dance Company
at Sharq Taronalari Festival 2005
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
from Egyptian Newspaper:
Al-Siyasi Al-Misri
World affairs
Conversation of cultures
by Muhammad Salama
translated from the Arabic by J.Hy
One of the most important international cultural activities documented by UNESCO this year, the Fifth International Oriental Music Festival, was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan last August. Twenty-five countries participated, and Egypt won a prize.
The festival witnessed a national competition between the artistic teams who presented shows of the history, civilization, and art of their countries, characterized by spice, delight, splendor, and more than that, the spectacle of those shows taking place in Registan Square, which holds historical Islamic architectural marvels. Except that the shows and performances of the American Silk Road Dance Company dazzled the eyes and excited the hands with warm applause; they won intense admiration for their distinction in presenting dancing tableaux in gorgeous Oriental costumes and disciplined performance indicating expertise in comprehending and digesting Islamic history and art. They had us reliving the era of the Thousand and One Nights!
The secret of the attention on this dance company is that it's American, grown up on Western art and its various instruments away from Eastern art, but nevertheless by its delightful performances it has proved a match for the masters in Uzbekistan, wearing co
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Gray's Persian Dance Choreographies featured on Iranian.com
Omid Alavi's extensive photo essay features
Silk Road Dance Company at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Norooz Celebration.
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Hooray for Bollywood
On June 20th the Silk Road Dance Company (SRDC) will present my new full-length, Bollywood-themed dance concert at Harmony Hall. The term ”Bollywood” refers to India’s enormous Hindi-language film industry that is located in Bombay (now known as ”Mumbai.”) Although Bollywood choreographies originally drew from Indian classical and folk dance, other genres like jazz, hip hop, and even belly dance have recently entered the mix. Bollywood movies have an innocent optimism, an infectious charm, and an unabashed sense of melodrama that paints the world in bright colors — just like the old Hollywood musicals of the Depression years.
READ FULL ARTICLE AT http://bourgeononline.com/?p=1209
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Le Magazine De La Danse Orientale: French Canadian Magazine Article on Laurel Victoria Gray
Papyrus Magazine: Laurel Victoria Gray: une femme qui a su aller au bout de ses rêves. Un portrait de Dominique Favreau
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Persian Dance Photo Essay on Iranian.com
''DAZZLING'' a photo essay by Omid Alavi
Persian dances by the Silk Road Dance Company performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art 2007 Norooz (Persian New Year)
celebration are the subject of this extensive photo essay.
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Persian Language Article on Haft Paykar, Persian Dance Concert
Iranian Times
Friday, March 18, 2005
Page 5, Volume XXXV, Number 53
Information on the April 2, 2005 premiere of the folkloric ballet of Laurel Victoria Gray -- Haft Paykar "Seven Beauties" performed by the Silk Road Dance Company.
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Review of Laurel Victoria Gray's Persian/Azeri Concert Work HAFT PAYKAR
Haft Paykar: "Seven Beauties"
by the Silk Road Dance Company
by Christel Stevens
The Silk Road Dance Company of metropolitan Washington, DC has been presenting increasingly ambitious programs of dances from Central Asia since 1995. In their tenth anniversary year, they have reached a pinnacle of grace, grandeur, style and technical merit in the ballet Haft Paykar: The Seven Beauties which premiered on Saturday, April 2, 2005 at the Publick Playhouse in Cheverly, Maryland as the cornerstone of the Third Annual World Dance Showcase “Dancing in Islamic Lands”, presented by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
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Review of Laurel Victoria Gray'sAncient Egyptian Dance Concert Work --EGYPTA: MYTH, MAGIC, AND MYSTERY
Egypta,
a Revivification of Ancient Sacred Dance
performed by
The Silk Road Dance Company
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage,
Washington D.C.
report by Pen Katali, M.L.S.
Egypta impressed me as a stunning artistic success, splendid beyond belief. The work can touch your innermost heart and exalt your soul. It is composed of fifteen episodes, alternating ensemble pieces with solos, telling the story of women and the Divine Feminine as the heart of ancient Egyptian civilization.
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Russian Language Press Article on Laurel Victoria Gray's Dance Concert Work "The Golden Road to Samarkand"
An article from Uzbekistans's official Jahon News Agency about the premiere of
"The Golden Road to Samarkand"
on November 4,2006,in celebration of the 2750th anniversary of the city of Samarkand.
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Seattle Post Intelligencer 1983 with Dance Solo from the Caucasus
A special performance for a Russian language camp included dances from the non-Russian areas of the Soviet Union. Laurel Victoria Gray performed a solo from the Caucasus.
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SEATTLE TIMES: Silk Road Dance Company at TurkFest 2009
Experience Exotic Turkey at
TurkFest at Seattle Center
Walking into the Seattle Center House this weekend will give you the feeling of traveling to an exotic, faraway land. Highlighting the rich and dynamic Turkish culture, the annual TurkFest teaches how cultural and natural elements have shaped the Turkish people.
The main attraction of the weekend is the festival's version of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. There you can stroll among vendors selling scarves, jewelry, carpets and more. In between souvenir shopping, taste buds will be temped by cooking demonstrations and Turkish coffee served in a traditional yurt.
Entertainment includes Washington, D.C.'s Silk Road Dance Company, local folk dance group Anadolu, Turkish pop music, choral music and shadow puppetry.
The works of two Turkish artists — Baris Koca, a nature and wildlife photographer, and painter Sule Dincel — will be featured at the Harrison Street Gallery at Seattle Center.
Laurie Dunlap, Seattle Times staff
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Silk Road Dance Company at Tajik Embassy Celebration
Tajik Independence Day Celebration
September 19, 2006
Washington, DC
The Silk Road Dance Company was invited to perform Tajik dance at the
Embassy of Tajikistan's
2006 Independence Day Celebration
held at the Carnegie Institute in Washington, DC.
The ensemble presented three
Tajik dances from their repertoire:
Saname, Nozanini Kuhistoni, and The Tulips of Badakhshan.
Article in Tajik Language
from Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty
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Silk Road Dance Company Comes to Salisbury University
Silk Road Dance Company Comes to SU September 19
Silk Road Dance Company Comes to SU September 19
Thursday, September 17, 2009
SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University explores Middle Eastern and Asian culture through performance as the Silk Road Dance Company of Washington, D.C., takes the Holloway Hall stage 7 p.m. Saturday, September 19.
Founded by Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray in 1995, the ensemble specializes in traditional dances, as well as those that are seldom now performed in their countries of origin, including Uzbekistan and Qadir. The company was the first American dance ensemble to earn an invitation to perform at the prestigious Sharq Taronalari International Festival in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and was featured in a Uzbek television special.
The company has been invited to the embassies of Egypt, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Russia and has won the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance Award for best dance company.
Nationally, Silk Road has been seen at the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Chicago’s Field Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum and Warner Bros. Studios, among others. Its members have given special performances for the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, the National Geographic Society and the National Peace Corps.
The Washington Post calls the company a “highlight.” The Washington Examiner says its performances are a “cultural explosion.”
Sponsored by the Office o
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Silk Road Dance Company featured in Dancer Magazine Article on Washington DC
''Washington DC -- Dance Blossoms''
July 2008 issue of DANCER MAGAZINE
Lisa M.Browder's interviewed Laurel Victoria Gray for this article on dance diversity and the increasing awareness of World Dance in Washington DC. The piece included a lovely color photo of Silk Road Dance Company.
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''Silk Road:'' From America to Turkmenistan
Russian language article about Silk Road Dance Company and company member Sarah Solomon.
To read full article, click on ''more.''
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SRDC dancer featured on cover of the Silver Spring Voice
Demet Cabbar became a ''cover girl'' when she
was photographed while informally performing a line dance at a Silver Spring festival.
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Uzbek Dance Classes in Washington DC
by Odil Ruzaliev 06/07/2006
Laurel Victoria Gray, who is well known in Uzbekistan, as the director of a dance company organized a three-day Central Asian Dance Camp. Famous artists participated in the work of the camp to give Uzbek dance lessons to the attendees.
People's Artist of Uzbekistan Qizlarxon Do'stmuhammedova participates for three days each year in the Central Asian Dance Camp. This year too, remaining faithful to tradition, the famous artist accepted the invitation of her American student, and shared a portion of the secrets of her art with the Americans interested in the art of Uzbek dance who registered.
During the work of the camp, the participants got lessons in the Fergana and Bukharan styles as well as Uzbek and Turkmen dances; they learned the differences between various types of dance styles.
The camp's organizer Laurel Victoria Gray is well known in Uzbekistan. Having first learned the secrets of Uzbek dance from master artists like Qizlarxon Do'stmuhammedova, Ms. Gray has been sharing her own knowledge with Americans for several years. The Silk Road Dance Company that she founded has come out the winner in many competitions and lately has been invited to participate in a series of performances throughout the USA.
One of the Silk Road Dance Company dancers, Courtney Smothers, is a constant attendee of the classes led by Qizlarxon Do'stmuhammedova each summer. She has recently been back in Uzbekistan.
"I have been attending the abov
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Uzbek Dance in the Queen Anne News
by Alan Gulick
Queen Anne News March 9,1988
This article appeared on the eve of a fourth trip to Uzbekistan by Laurel Victoria Gray. The invitation came from the Uzbek Vatan Society for Cultural Ties with Countrymen Living Abroad in order to help her continuing studies of Uzbek dance.
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Uzbek Dance:Nizomiyning Xamsa si AQShda sahnalashtirildi
by Odil Ruzaliev
VOA UZBEK TV VIDEO FOOTAGE and
Uzbek language article on Laurel Victoria Gray and her production of Haft Paykar: SEVEN BEAUTIES with the Silk Road Dance Company
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Washington Post Review 1989 ofUzbek Dance Concert at Smithsonian
"Wonders of the Silk Road"
by Alexandra Tomalonis
A review of the Uzbek dance performance at the Smithsonian presented in conjuction with the exhibit, "Timur and the Princely Vision."
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We Are the World Article features Laurel Victoria Gray's dance classes
The Gazette
March 5, 2009
'We are the world'
Prince George's offers a global variety of entertainment, culture and heritage
by Elahe Izadi
Excerpt from article:
Laurel Gray, instructor of the class at Joe's, teaches dances originating from throughout North Africa and the Middle East. The belly dancing she teaches is more centered on its folkloric origins rather than just giving students a good workout.
Dance student Marcea Austin of Washington, D.C., said the class has improved her worldview.
''We're not only dancing here,'' Austin said. ''[Gray] gives us an international view of women from all around the world.''
Gray includes explanations of the origins of the dances and what the particular moves mean, student Kathy Papienski of College Park said.
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World-dance Icon Returns to Seattle for Workshop Series
NORTH SEATTLE HERALD OUTLOOK NEWS
By Michelle Shakira Ericksen
08/07/2008
A specialist in Uzbek, Central Asian, Arabic, Persian and Russian Romani dances, Laurel Victoria Gray will teach a series of world-dance workshops Tuesday, Aug. 12, through Aug. 20 in Fremont.
The classes, for all levels, will take place at Visionary Dance Productions (VDP), 4128 Fremont Ave. N. Students may sign up for the entire week of workshops or for individual days.
VDP's Delilah (a stage name) said, ''I'm really glad we're offering Persian dance. I think dance is a good world vibration, and we just want to put some really good energy out there in the world about Iran, given the political climate today.''
DECADES OF DANCE
Gray, the artistic director for Silk Road Dance Company, has been dancing since childhood and teaching for more than 30 years.
Gray started out dancing ballet and tap in her hometown of Spokane. ''They also offered flamenco to the older children, so I watched these other classes in fascination,'' Gray said.
Gray continued ballet in high school and became drawn to the music, movements and costumes interested in international folk dancing.
Gray later enrolled in modern dance classes at Occidental College in Los Angeles, where she helped found the Occidental College Folk and Historical Dance Troupe.
Gray sought out native dancers living in the United States. She took workshops with visiting specialists and, in 1979, met Qizlarhon Dusmuhamedova of
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