Course Code: GC05

Persian dance refers to the dance styles indigenous to the area known as Iran. In the Persian language dance is Raghs or Raqs. What it is called and the style is different depending on the area, culture, and language of the local people. The kind of dancing found in most cities and among the diaspora is called 'raghs' in Persian. It is almost entirely performed to 6\8 time signatures (called "shish o hasht") and is the only dance that is performed and known by all Iranic peoples regardless of ethnicity. The dance itself is highly individualistic and also heavily relies on solo improvisation performances much like all other Iranian art forms such as music, etc. Typically in raghs the upper body motion is emphasized, with hand motions, hip undulations and facial expressions being points of attention. Although often compared to Arabic dance, raghs is actually very distinct, due to its signature hand movements, and slow circular hip movements as opposed to the rapid hip movements used in belly dance.