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Mazda Publishers, Published 1999. Hardcover, x, 235 pp.; 25 cm; Bibliotheca Iranica, Performing Arts Series No. 5; illustrated with black-and-white figures, including photographs, archaeological and manuscript images, and Persian calligraphy.
In Very Good condition with a Very Good dust jacket. Blue pebbled cloth-covered boards with silver lettering on spine; mild shelf and edge wear. Covers and binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. Dust jacket illustrated with a painting of a dancer by Jamal; rear panel with photograph of a dancer of AVAZ International Dance Theatre; flaps with author photograph and biography and a color detail of a dancing figure from a late 14th-century manuscript. Jacket has a few small nicks and light creasing along edges, and mild shelf and edge wear. Now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover. [From dust jacket] Choreophobia is the term coined by Dr. Anthony Shay, in this first full-length study of Iranian dance, to characterize the widespread ambiguous and negative reactions to solo improvised dance, the most popular dance form in the Iranian world. The central project of this study, designed for both scholars and general readers, is to identify and analyze what factors currently contribute and have historically contributed to the ambiguous position solo improvised dance occupies in an Iranian context. This is reflected both currently and historically in attempts to ban its public performances. In spite of the negative reactions solo improvised dance can evoke, nonetheless it is also loved and performed throughout the Iranian world, emphasizing the ambiguity that accompanies its performances in various social contexts. Shay, a dancer, choreographer and founder of the AVAZ International Dance Theatre, earned the first Ph.D. in Dance History and Theory at the University of California, Riverside. Figures range from prehistoric potsherds and a Sasanian vase to a 1950s Iranian film advertisement and AVAZ performance photographs. Contents: Acknowledgements; Introduction; Solo Improvised Dance: Its Movement Practices and Aesthetics; Historical Aspects of Solo Improvised Dance; Dance and Other Movement Activities in an Iranian-Islamic Context; The Iranian-American Community; Solo Improvised Dance in Social Contexts; Solo Improvised Dance in Performance Contexts; Summary and Conclusions; Notes to the Chapters; Illustrations; Bibliography; Index.