Shamakhi dancers

The Shamakhi dancers were the principal dancers of the entertainment groups that existed in Shamakhi (present-day Republic of Azerbaijan) up to the late nineteenth century. These groups worked similarly to tawaifs.

Russian painter Grigory Gagarin who lived in the Caucasus in 1840–1855 depicted the Shamakhi dancers in a series of paintings, in which he referred to them as "bayaderki" [ [http://www.azeri.ru/az/cultur/359/ Ими восхищался Дюма] by Emil Karimov and Mehpara Aliyeva. "Azeri.ru"] (баядерки; sg. "bayaderka" – баядерка; originally the Portuguese term "balliadera" borrowed into Russian and other European languages via French ("bayadère") and initially used to refer to the devadasi. [Bayadère. Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved February 1st, 2008 from Oxford English Dictionary.] )

The extant documents regarding the Shamakhi dancers, and dances, are very limited. In literature, Shamakhi dancers are referred to in Comte de Gobineau's novel "The dancing girl of Shamakha and other Asiatic tales".

Notes and references

#Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau, "The dancing girl of Shamakha and other Asiatic tales", authorized translation by Helen Morgenthau Fox, 340 p. (Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1926), OCLC 220571590; 368 p. (Kessinger Publishing, Montana, 2007), ISBN 1432579827

See also

* Persian dance
* Afsaneh Ballet

External links

* Some Azerbaijani dances:
— The traditional dance "Land of Fire", performed in Seoul, 2007: [http://www.youtube.com/v/lxhaYUrapok&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (3 min 56 sec).
— The dance "Magharas", performed in Seoul, 2007: [http://www.youtube.com/v/p3uj3Kw8UvE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (5 min 30 sec).
— "Nelbeki", a traditional Azarbaijani wedding dance, performed in Seoul, 2007: [http://www.youtube.com/v/QkMAkdadgeY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (5 min 16 sec).
— The "Yalli" dance: [http://www.youtube.com/v/G_bh6FIjCmw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (4 min 17 sec).
— A traditional group dance [http://www.youtube.com/v/Xi-vKeEdvuc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (4 min 22 sec).
— A group dance: [http://www.youtube.com/v/_xQqZXDO8Nc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (3 min 24 sec).
— A collection of group and solo dances: [http://www.youtube.com/v/RD06Sl1Qo1U&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (8 min 48 sec).
— Some solo dances: [http://www.youtube.com/v/zQJp6e6XaRk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (3 min 30 sec); [http://www.youtube.com/v/hQhS81qLxzw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (2 min 38 sec); [http://www.youtube.com/v/bMFpNXsSgD4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (3 min 17 sec).
* "Sandirak", a traditional Caucasian dance, Moscow, 2007: [http://www.youtube.com/v/trwcUq44SUU&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (8 min 03 sec).
* A Caucasian dance: [http://www.youtube.com/v/lDVJodDyE94&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1] (4 min 24 sec).