Additional Resources
Artist's Official Website: http://www.silkroaddance.com
Millennium Stage Home Page
Part of the Performing Arts for Everyone Initiative
SILK ROAD DANCE COMPANY
About the Artist
The award-winning Silk Road Dance Company (SRDC) presents traditional and contemporary women's dances from the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Founded by Artistic Director Laurel Victoria Gray in 1995, the ensemble's performances offer a unique glimpse of the life, culture, and art of little known regions. SRDC has won deep respect from the members of the communities represented by the company's repertoire. They were the first American dance ensemble to win an invitation to perform in Samarkand, Uzbekistan at the UNESCO-sponsored Sharq Taronalari International Festival; they were also the subject of a special on Uzbek television. SRDC has been featured performers at events for the Embassies of Egypt, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Russia, and are frequently engaged by numerous cultural organizations in the local Middle Eastern community.
In 2003, SRDC won the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance Award for Best Dance Company; that same year they presented Egypta: Myth, Magic, and Mystery as part of the Kennedy Center's Prelude Festival and Local Dance Commissioning Project. A Joy of Motion Company-in-Residence, the ensemble has been a three-time finalist for the Metro DC Awards. Artistic Director Gray won the 2006 Metro DC Dance Award for "Excellence in Costume Design."
SRDC has performed nationally at Warner Bros Studios (Hollywood, CA), Houston's Museum of Fine Arts, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, San Antonio's annual "Coronation of the Queen", North Carolina State University, Ford Amphitheater (Hollywood, CA) the Manhattan Center and the Metropolitan Club (NY, NY), Baltimore's Walters Art Museum, the Agha Khan Foundation in Atlanta, Shepherd College (WV) and the Rakkasah Middle Eastern Dance Festival (Somerset, NJ). The ensemble has also appeared at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals in D.C., including the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the State Department, the National Theatre, the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, National Geographic Society, the National Press Club, the Washington Monument, the Library of Congress, Georgetown University, Dance Place, the Jack Guidone Theatre and Lisner Auditorium. Their clients include the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Amnesty International, RAWA, the Secret Service, the World Affairs Council, the Foreign Policy Association, and the National Peace Corps.
Ethnically diverse, the ensemble's dancers have mastered a wide range of styles. Some rare pieces in the repertoire are no longer performed in the countries of origin. People's Artists of Uzbekistan Qizlarhon Dustmuhamedova and Qadir Muminov have passed on a precious legacy of Central Asian dances to SRDC. Dustmukhamedova teaches a month-long residency with the ensemble each summer. Other collaborators such esteemed performers as Egyptian choreographer Momo Kadous, North African dance ethnologist Amel Tafsout, and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain. Most recently, in December of 2006, SRDC enjoyed a master class with Yusif Gasimov, People's Artist of Azerbaijan, who taught the ensemble an ancient Azeri dance.
In 2004, SRDC was the subject of a special broadcast by the Arab TV network Al Hurra. In April 2005, SRDC premiered Gray's major folkloric ballet, Haft Paykar: "Seven Beauties", at the 2005 World Dance Showcase, sponsored by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. VOA television has created two special programs on the ensemble. Several feature-length articles on SRDC have appeared in the World and I and Azerbaijan International magazines.
Recognized for the beauty, authenticity, and imagination of its productions, SRDC has enchanted audiences with productions like Remembering the Legends; 3,000 Years of Women of the Silk Road, The Lion and the Sun: Dances of the Old Persian Empire, Haft Paykar: Seven Beauties, and An Evening on the Silk Road.. On November 4, 2006, they premiered Laurel Victoria Gray's latest production, The Golden Road to Samarkand, which was filmed by Uzbek State Television.
Past Performances
January 25, 2009
In traditional costumes, this award-winning dance company performs the dynamic folklore of Egypt, the Arabian Gulf, and North Africa.
June 15, 2008
Local choreographers and dancers are celebrated as Jazzdanz/dc, Silk Road Dance Company, BosmaDance, and Coyaba Dance Theater perform a shared program.
October 3, 2004
Dance DC Festival presents performances by Kankouran West African Dance Company, the SilkRoad Dance Company, Tappers with Attitude, and the Spanish Dance Society.
September 15, 2003
Laurel Victoria Gray’s newly choreographed program-length suite of 14 dances, Egypta: Myth, Magic, and Mystery, is named after Ruth St. Denis’ eponymous work. This story of ancient Egypt focuses on its women from birth to death. Grey’sBethesda, Maryland-based Silk Road Dance Company performs. (Kinespheres series LCDP)
September 14, 2003
Laurel Victoria Gray’s newly choreographed program-length suite of 14 dances, Egypta: Myth, Magic, and Mystery, is named after Ruth St. Denis’ eponymous work. This story of ancient Egypt focuses on its women from birth to death. Grey’sBethesda, Maryland-based Silk Road Dance Company performs. (Kinespheres series LCDP)
June 19, 2003
International World Refugee Day
“Shared Wishes, Shared Dreams” The Silk Road Dance Company joins The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in recognition and celebration of millions of refugees, who have contributed to and enriched cultures throughout the world. International World Refugee Day
November 10, 2001
The Silk Road Dance Company brings the beauty and grace of Central Asia and the Middle East to the stage with traditional dances, music and sumptuous costumes.
