Bandari dance, a chain dance, is often referred to as Persian bellydance. Bandari dance is a chain dance that often involves multiple people dancing and often perform this at parties, traveling around in a circle and sometimes stepping into the centre for a solo with encouragement from other dancers, the only variations are in the arm movements. It is a Persian dance that prevails in the South of Iran next to the Persian Gulf and has been influenced by the African and Arabic music and dance. It is a combination of rhythmic movements in various directions according to the beat of the song. The distinct feature of this dance is the way performers wave their hands in a unique manner that resembles the cooperation of a group of fishermen at the sea. The word bandari means “of the port” and is a derivation of the Persian word bandar, meaning port.
Basseri Dance
Persia
Basseri dance is a traditional dance performed by the
Basseri tribe who live in the Fars province. The dancers wear their traditional and colorful clothes.
Bojnourdi Dance
Persia
Bojnourdi dance
Bojnord/Bojnourd is a village in the northeast section of Iran inhabited by a Turkic people. Men and women dance separately or together in Bojnordi dance, snapping their fingers in the method known as peshkan. Dancing in a circle with running and step hop steps, the dancers may turn alternate directions facing first one side then the next, dancers sometimes facing one another. Men or women may dance and wave small colorful scarves, called dastmal.
Choob Bazi
Persia
Choobbazi, also known as chobbazi, chub-bazi, çûb-bâzî or raghs-e choob, is a chain dance found all over Iran, performed by men with sticks, the name translates to English as ‘stick play’. There are two types of Choobbazi dance styles, the first one being more combative in style, only performed by men (normally only two men, assuming the roles as the attacker and the defender) and does not appear to have a rhythmic pattern; this style is more frequently found in Southwestern Iran. The second style Choobbazi is a circle or line dance with pattern, performed by both sexes and is more of a social dance.
Classical Persian Court Dance
Persia
Classical Persian court dances, solo dances, improvisational, often utilize delicate, graceful movements of the hands and arms with animated facial expressions are central to the concept of that difficult-to-define flirtatiousness. Persian classical dance has not been organized and codified. Thus each dancer creates her own style and improvises within a recognizably Persian framework of movements. Costumes for these types of dance feature rich silks, brocades and flowing long skirts.
Haji Narenji Dance
Persia
Haj Naranji dance an upper body motion is emphasized, with hand motions, trunk undulations and facial expressions being points of attention.
Le’b Guati
Persia
Le’bGuati a spiritual dance by the Baluchis of Eastern Iran to rid a person of a possessing spirit
Azerbaijani and Caucasian folk dance; comes in variations of styles based on region.
Mazandarani Dance
Persia
Mazandarani dance
Lak Sema
Dasmal Sema
Majme Sema
Lampa Sema
DerumBakordan
Tesh Sema
Chakka Sema
Saz Sema
Sema Hal
QasemAbadi
Persia
Qasemabadi, also known as Ghasem Abadi, is a chain genre, rice-harvesting dance of the Gilaki people from the Gilan province of Iran near the Caspian Sea.
Raghs-e-Pa
Persia
Raghs-e-Pa, also known as Raqs-e Pa or Pay-Bazi, is the traditional gymnasium footwork dance found at zurkhaneh (a traditional Iranian gym). The name translates to English as “foot dance”.
Sama o Raghs
Persia
Sama-o-raghs: a spiritual Sufi dance of joy that involves chanting. Dancers move to the rhythm of the music, often continuing until they fall into a trance or collapse from exhaustion.
Shamsir Dance
Persia
Shamshir dance: war dance involving a sword, also known as Shamshir-bazi; usually performed in Sistan and Baluchestan province
Yalli
Persia
Yalli, also known as Yally or Halay, an Azerbaijani chain folk dance, starts slowly and finishes fast at almost running speed. Traditionally it was a celebration of fire, which was a source of heat, light, and warm food. In ancient times dancersworshipedfire as a goddess.
Zar a spiritual dance, from Southern coastal regions of Iran. People believe in the existence of winds that can be either vicious or peaceful and possess people. They are healedthrough a specificceremony and dance
Zargari Dance
Persia
Zargari dance: a chain dance, from the Zargari people, a Romani-related ethnic group deriving from the Zargar, Iran area, specially Isphan.