VASHT

In VASHT, the third instalment in her trilogy, Ulduz Ahmadzadeh draws inspiration from the intersections of the Silk Road to map the spread of ancient dance knowledge and its complex genealogies. Against the backdrop of contemporary neocolonial trade infrastructures, Ahmadzadeh choreographically reinterprets the movement of the route, allowing VASHT to oscillate between memory and resistance. 

The piece examines dances performed by different ethnic groups in Central and Southwest Asia, which constitute a flexible form of cultural resistance in both totalitarian regimes and postcolonial societies. Some are still widely practiced, while others are only maintained by master dancers and their ensembles. Due to a lack of research and documentation – and the strict ban on dance in Iran – many of these traditions are at risk of disappearing.  

A charmingly sarcastic djinn accompanies the traditional rituals and narrative scenes interwoven with abstract choreographies. Forbidden or permitted, danced by men or women, in private or in public: these dances have been passed down and transformed over the centuries during migrations. Ahmadzadeh destabilizes Western categorization, as well as the apparent ‘linearity’ of dance genealogies. The piece asks how the cultural practices of the region will evolve in the time of neocolonial projects like the ‘New Silk Road’. 

In Old Persian, the word vasht refers to dance as an expression of transcendence. Ahmadzadeh continues her long-standing research, exploring connections and resonances between different regional forms, which are also explored in her works TARAB (2022) and ZAAR (2024). 

• Ulduz Ahmadzadeh is a choreographer, dancer, researcher, and artistic co-director of ATASH عطش Contemporary Dance Company. Her artistic work breaks with Western aesthetics, developing a contemporary dance language influenced by Central and Southwest Asia forms, and addressing socio-political themes and cultural hierarchies. Together with artistic co-director and scenographer Till Krappmann, Ahmadzadeh operates at the intersection of dance, performance, video, installation, documentation, and activism. The productions of ATASH عطش Contemporary Dance Company tour internationally.