The Mechanics of the Uyghur Dance

Dancing is a Uyghur tradition like none other.  No celebration, either religious or otherwise, takes place without a bit of loud music and a dance floor.  It really is a treat for the eyes even if your ears are collateral damage and I've taken the liberty of catching some of it on film for you.

You'll notice two things right off the bat when you watch this video.

1. It is very common, if not expected, for men to dance with men and women to dance with women.  Co-ed dancing still occurs, of course, but it seems to be less frequent.  Thankfully there's no contact involved in the dancing, however I still find myself laughing when I get on a dance floor and I have another man twirling, singing and flailing his arms all around me!  It's more than a little uncomfortable for those who have never done it before.

2. This dancing looks easy, right?  Just shuffle your feet and move your hands in constantly reversing arcs and you'll be fine.  Wrong.  It's deceptively difficult.  All it takes is watching one foreigner make a fool out of himself "mimicking" what he sees on the dance floor and you'll know that there's a little more finesse involved.  The women are even harder (or so my wife says) because they have to move their hands and head in slow, exotic movements while keeping their torso somewhat straight and their feet constantly changing.

In the following video you're going to see two types of celebrations: religious and matrimonial.  The first part was taken in Kashgar outside the Id Kah Mosque immediately after Ramadan.  As is tradition after their huge religous ceremony, all the men gather in the mosque courtyard and celebrate with music and dancing.  The rest of the clips were taken at various weddings we've attended around town.  My personal favorite is the old men at the end who look a little tipsy and took up half the dance floor with their wild movements and huge smiles!  Enjoy!

Keep the volume low...I couldn't equalize the sound