FILMOGRAPHY

Documentaries and Historic Footage

- Legends of Uzbek Dance 2021                                                                                                         

General introduction of Uzbek dance from its origins to the present, highlighting outstanding contributors to stage dance development, such as Tamara Khanum, Usta Alim Kamilov, Mukhitddin Kari-Yakubov, Mukarram Turgunbaeva, Isaqar Aqilov, and the Bakhor Ensemble. Augmented with vintage footage and interviews, 15 dance performances by contemporary artists, filmed on location, include the classic choreographies Munojat, Tanovar, and Larzon.       

- Khorazm Dance, Lazgi 2019               

Documentary from UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Footage shows the importance of Lazgi to local culture, and the various styles of Lazgi.

- The Desert of Forbidden Art 2010

Located in Uzbekistan’s remote region of Karakalpakstan, the Savitsky Museum is the houses archaeological and ethnographic items - along with an exceptional collection of thousands of Soviet Avant Garde works of art. This film reveals the incredible story of Igor Savitsky who rescued these paintings.

- Koryo Saram - The Unreliable People 2006

Documentary by Y. David Chung and Matt on the forced relocation of Koreans from the Soviet Far East into Central Asia. Includes footage of a Koryo-Saram theatre group.  

- Тамара Ханум Tamara Khanum 1982

This Russian language documentary film was made when Tamara Khanum was 76 years old. She recalls episodes from her career and her first foreign trip in 1925, when she performed in Paris and their team was told to appear only in their traditional clothing.  Footage of one of her 1939 performances with Usta Olim at the Great Ferghana Canal. At 13:23 a male dancer performs with her.  The iconic moment from Pilla when she pantomimed embroidering a men’s belbak or scarf, can be seen at 13:35. The latter part of the film shows different pieces from her repertoire of international songs and dances, adapted from the Uzbek “lapar” genre which combines song and dance with a story.             

- Mukarrama Turg'unboyeva  1959

Biographical background provided in Uzbek followed by 1957 footage of Mukarram Turgunbaeva performing with the Bakhor Ensemble. Dancers appear to be wearing the same costume as the ones shown in the 1957 film clip.

- Raqslarda umr bahori: Qizlarxon Do'stmuhamedova                                                       

(Dances from the Spring of Life: Kizlarkhon Dusmukhamedova) 1991

Footage from a variety of choreographies in the repertoire of People’s Artist of Uzbekistan, Kizlarkhon Dusmukhamedova. Scenes include moments with Tamara Khanum, the painter Chingiz Akhmarov and Kizlarkhon’s mother. Beautifully filmed in various locations, including the Alisher Navoi Theater of Opera and Ballet.

Newsreels

- Doch' svyatogo (The Daughter of a Saint) 1930

This silent film, shot on location in Samarkand, tells the story of a childless couple who join a pilgrimage, seeking a blessing from a local saint. When the Iman catches a glimpse of the wife’s face, he asks that she be brought to him. He rapes her, then casts her out. She becomes pregnant, giving birth to a daughter. Years later, the same “saint” desires a beautiful girl, not recognizing that she is his biological daughter. The mother finds a way to save her daughter and to get justice. Actors wear traditional clothing, including the paranjah and chuchva.

- Krusheniye emirata (The Collapse of the Bukharan Emirate) 1955

Set in the last days of the Bukharan Emirate, this film was shot on location, with leading actors wearing what appears to be the royal robes, turbans, jewels, and belts of the Emir and his courtiers. People’s Artist Isakhar Akilov set the Bukharan dance scene in the court, beginning at 5:02 into the film.

- Ocharovan toboy (Fascinated by You) 1958

With the goal of finding new stars to feature in his upcoming film, a director searches Uzbekistan for fresh talent. Scenes in Tashkent, Bukhara, and Khorezm reveal unique traditions of music and dance of each region. Locations include Tashkent’s Alisher Navoi Theater of Opera and Ballet, with cameo appearances by  Isakhar Akilov, Mukarram Turgunbaeva, Galia Izmailova, Mukhtar Ashrafi and other leading artists.

- Qo`shiqlar Uchadi (“Songs Fly”) 1959 

Set on a train, leading artists of Uzbekistan share performances. Among them are Yusufjon-Kyzyk Shakarjanov, Mukarram Turgunbaeva and Bakhor Ensemble, Tamara Khanum, and other stars.

- Ty ne sirota (You Are Not an Orphan) 1962

This film is based on the true story of an Uzbek couple who took in displaced orphans of different nationalities who were sent to Tashkent during WWII.

- Zaveshchaniye starogo mastera (The Testament of the Old Master) 1969

Part of a four-part television series in which children discover a manuscript in the ruins of an old house, the testament of a master craftsman of Bukhara. Flashbacks filmed on location reveal the world of pre-revolutionary Bukhara, including the classes of a Jadid teacher of the “new school.” The schoolroom scene – about 40:00 -takes place when a new boy whose past education had been limited to Quranic recitation, and who comes from an illiterate family.

- Mehrobdan chayon (Scorpion from the Altar) 1973 

Film adaptation of the novel by Abdullah Qadiriy which presents the court intrigue and the attempt to force a girl to marry into the ruler’s harem. One scene recreates a melancholy performance of music and dance in the ichkari, the women’s quarters,

- Smysl zhizni (The Meaning of Life) 1987

A major moment in this film is a dramatic reenactment of the building of the Ferghana Canal in 1939, which was accomplished by manual labor in 45 days. It includes scenes of the musicians and dancers who provided entertainment for the workers. Tamara Khanum was portrayed by her granddaughter, Alagez Salakhova, who wore her grandmother’s costumes and jewelry for the film. The episode begins about 39:00 into film with the arrival of workers, with karnai trumpets and nagora drums.

- O'tgan Kunlar (Bygone Days) 1998

Film adaptation of Abdullah Qadiriy’s famous tragic novel depicts Turkestan before the Russian Revolution and the evils of polygamy. The scene of the maidens’ gathering with the bride on her wedding night includes a moment when one of her friends dresses and dances like a man.

- Haytarma (Return) 2013

Dramatic film depicting Stalin’s forced deportation of the entire Crimean Tatar population on the 18th of  May, 1944. Opening sequence and subsequent scenes show the Haytarma dance. Haytarma means “return.” 

- Paranji Tashlangan Kun (The Day the Paranja was Abandoned) 

This scene is from a series about the life of poet, playwright, musician, and activist Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi and the Hujum campaign. A supporter of female emancipation he encouraged women to unveil and burn their paranjas.

- Zaveshchaniye starogo mastera (The Testament of an Old Master) 1969 

Part of a four-part television series in which children discover a manuscript in the ruins of an old house, writing of a master craftsman of Bukhara. Flashbacks filmed on location reveal the world of pre-revolutionary Bukhara, including the classes of a Jadid teacher of the “new school.” The schoolroom scene takes place when a new boy whose past education had been limited to Quranic recitation.

ACCOMPANYING IMAGES

Image 1: Kokand 1894. Accompanied by female musicians, a bacha dances with an older Sart girl, with another individual sitting behind them. Some of the same girls here have been identified elsewhere as prostitutes, indicating possible dance transmission by female dancers to bachas. From the Archives of the Russian Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. 

Image 2: 1927 Uzbekistan Ethnographic Ensemble. Tamara Khanum stands next to her husband Mukhitddin Kari-Yakubov, center back row. In the center of the center row in Yusufjon Kyzyk Shakarjanov playing nagora and, at the far right of that row may possibly be the male dancer who appears elsewhere in historic images. Center front, bottom row, playing the chang, is Usta Olim Kamilov. From the archives of the Tamara Khanum Museum.

Image 3: Dancers with Tamara Khanum, dressed in traditional Ferghana clothing. Tamara Khanum is center front. A very young Mukarram Turgunbaeva is in the second row on the far left.

Image 4: Celebratory procession to welcome the Red Army guards posted on the border to protect against the anti-revolutionary Basmachi forces. Tamara Khanum is center front, with a female dancer on the left and a male dancer on the right. From the archive of the Tamara Khanum Museum.

Image 5: Dancers dressed in Bukharan attire, wearing peshanaband headdresses, decorative peshkurta embroidery pieces, and traditional jewelry. From the archive of the Tamara Khanum Museum.

Image 6: Khorezm dancers in modernized version of traditional costumes, performing at a Navruz celebration. (Note the “dropped” waistline of the blue costume.) Photo by Rustambek Sharipov.

Image 7: Boris Grigoriev’s 1916 “double portrait” of Vsevolod Meyerhold, who taught many students from Uzbekistan at the Moscow Theatrical Institute. The figure in the background, holding a bow and arrow, is dressed in the tunic and wide trousers of Central Asian warriors, such as the Polovtsians, a connection to Meyerhold’s past work with the Ballets Russses. Image from Wiki Commons.

Image 8: The 1938 portrait of Vsevolod Meyerhold by Pyotr Konchalovsky, with an Uzbek suzani textile hanging behind him, perhaps a gift from on of his Central Asian students. In June of 1939, Meyerhold was arrested and tortured until he was executed on February 2, 1940.

Image 9: Dancers from the Bakhor Ensemble, with the company’s musicians, performing an Uyghur piece. Photo credit: Rustambek Sharipov.

Image 10: People’s Artist of Uzbekistan, Firuza Salikhova, performing Khorezm dance at a public celebration in Tashkent. Photo credit: Rustambek Sharipov

Image 11: Karakalpak dancers in traditional jewelry and costumes at national celebration in Tashkent. Photo credit: Rustambek Sharipov.

Image 12: Dancers from the Koryo-Saram community, keeping their culture alive in Uzbekistan. Photo courtesy of Larisa Valentinovna Kim and Jon K. Chang.

Image 13: The Koryo-Saram dance ensemble Chen Chun (Youth) in rehearsal. Larisa Valentinovna Kim is on the end of the line on the far right. Photo courtesy of Larisa Valentinovna Kim and Jon K. Chang.

Image 14: The “revived” Bakhor Ensemble, performing the company’s signature choreography “Waltz Bakhor” originally created by People’s Artist of Uzbekistan, Mukarram Turgunbaeva. Photo credit: Nasirjon Dekhanov.

Image 15: Based on ancient rhythm patterns and movements, Katta Oyin was first staged by Usta Olim Kamilov and Tamara Khanum. This version was created by Mukarram Turgunbaeva for the Bakhor Ensemble and is considered one of the classics of Uzbek stage dance. Here is a performance by the “revived” Bakhor Ensemble. Photo credit: Nosirjon Dekhanov.

Image 16: The choreography Namangan Olmasi by Mukarram Turgunbaeva is one of several which have entered the repertoire of the American ensemble, Silk Road Dance Company shown here. Photo credit: John G. Walter

Image 17: Members of Tashkent Crimean Tatar community in traditional costumes at an Uzbekistan Independence Day celebration in Tashkent. Photo credit: Laurel Victoria Gray.

Image 18: Photograph of the orginal Bakhor Ensemble. Dancers prepare for a Bukharan dance. Photo credit: Rustambek Sharipov.

image 19: Publicity flyer advertising the 1979 performance of “Folk Dance of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic”with dancers and musicians listed by name. The performers included Kizlarkhon Dusmukhamedova as well as Ziyodao Madrakhimova who currently leads the “revived” Bakhor Ensemble. Image kindly provided by Malika Khaidarova (spelled incorrectly on flyer), who was one of the Bakhor dancers.

Image 20: In 1982, the first class in Uzbek dance held in the United States, taught by People’s Artist of Uzbekistan Kizlarkhon Dusmukhamedova who first performed in the US in 1979.

Front row, Edward “Skip” Williams, III,   Betty Bigelow, Phyllis Bacharach, Barbara Nelson, Sue Elawar.Center row from the left, Susan Scarpello, Jennifer Mateligh, Laurel Victoria Gray, Kizlarkhon Dusmukhamedova, Chris Williams, Adeluisa Judal, Margaret Merrill. Back row from left, unidentified person,  Zoe Caspers, and  Barbara Endicott. Class took place in the home of Barbara Endicott and was made possible by the Seattle Tashkent Sister City Committee. Photo from the author’s personal archive.