Dancing like they do There

I love tradition as much as I hate it. Last night at my cousin’s wedding, a very Iranian-Azeri song came on, and the whole Iranian-Azeri part of the family bounced to their feet and rushed to the dance floor. This songs are energetic and fun so even the Americans started to jump up and down on the dance floor. But I had my eye on one couple, a couple I saw at my aunt's house the night before. They told the DJ they would pay him a $100 for a good ‘Tork’ song. The DJ had Iranian music but he didn’t have any Tork music (tork is how they refer to themselves) and everyone was disappointed.

But now the song was on. The couple got up and began. Her face was dramatic, stern and seductive at the same time. All of this was part of the dance. He had his hands and arms in the air and bent them in strict angles, they sort of sashayed across the dance floor to the beat, which seemed to be in 1-2-3, 1-2-3 kind of like a very fast cha-cha-cha. What was remarkable was they cool deamonor given the intensity of the drums and music. Her arms went back and forth on the beat in angles in front of her face. Their attitude and coordination together was a delight to watch.

They never touched, because as the dancing goes in my part of world, the seduction is in the moves and the facial language, not in the touch. The moth comes close but never touches the flame.

At some points they would be side to side and start to move backwards, and then forwards, and then the break up with her turn away from him.

These two people were not trained or special, they were regular people who knew the dance from their part of the world. It’s a bit like country dancing in the south or tango in Argentina. There are subtle rules not to be broken, the enjoyment was in those rules and respecting and enjoying the beat with the body.