Shahrzad is an Iranian-born, globally recognized dancer and choreographer with a master’s degree in Creative Arts from SFSU. She is a cofounder of Iranian Dance Academy, artistic director of Shahrzad Dance Company, and a Teaching Artist for Youth in Arts and Young Imaginations. She is the author of the book, The Art of Persian Dance, and a member of an international research team, studying the effects of dance on the psyche and the brain.
'Analytical vs Intuitive Dance Practice: Is Pedagogical Learning the Result of Colonization?'
"In early to mid-20th century Iran, as in other countries in the region, efforts were made by the government to use dance as a national identity. It was believed that to be internationally recognized and valued, particularly by the West, the traditional dances and music must be palatable to Westerners. Thus, ballet masters were brought to Iran to train Iranian dancers, folk and vernacular dances were “polished” and staged into spectacular productions to entertain foreign dignitaries, and a “national” dance company was endorsed to tour foreign nations to represent the nation of Iran. In this way, to an extent, ballet infused Iranian dance. This phenomenon has been referred to as an “invented tradition” (Meftahi, 2016). Traditional Iranian dances have historically been passed on from one generation to the next through cultural immersion, either within family rituals and celebrations or in master-apprentice sessions. In both settings, however, knowledge is transferred orally and through practice, with no use of an established codified movement language or a systematic teaching technique. This was true of the West centuries ago, but since the 16th century, the West has used analytical thinking and systematic processes as the main approach for teaching and learning. Hence, pedagogical teaching is often recognized as a Western way of transmitting knowledge, and when used to disseminate traditional Iranian dance, can be viewed as a Western-imposed process. I argue that a pedagogical teaching method can be used to teach traditional Iranian dance without the infusion of Western dance techniques, such as ballet, and that this methodology does not result in an “invented tradition”, and is merely a contemporary way of disseminating traditional dances. Although the idea of pedagogical teaching may have originally been a Western phenomenon that was adopted by the 20th-century modernization in Iran, it is now part of a modern-day global perspective. With the invention of the internet and globalized communication, these types of cultural boundaries are becoming less defined. Also, as more attention is paid to the different learning styles, multiple teaching methods are being adopted. Dance educators trained in analytical teaching methods sometimes use improvisation and immersion as teaching tools, and similarly, teachers of traditional dances may use pedagogical teaching methods. Furthermore, with a culture-conscious approach, the essential elements of the dance form, such as culturally ingrained aesthetics and mannerisms embodied in the movement, can be maintained during the systematic transmission of knowledge. Thus, teaching in an analytical and systematic way does not automatically imply colonization. Through movement demonstration, explanation, and comparison to other traditional Iranian arts, I will question whether using an analytical approach to learning and teaching Iranian dance is a Western-impose, Eurocentric perspective, or a contemporary global one. As Zap Maboungou states, “Contemporary is not Western” (Templeton, 2017), I so claim that a contemporary global perspective in dance pedagogy is not necessarily a colonized one."