When I was a dance major at San Francisco State University two decades ago, I was proud to attend a university with a unique dance program. SFSU was one of few universities that actually recognized “Ethnic Dance” as a legitimate dance form to study. The dance department hosted classes in Capoeira, Flamenco, Congolese, and Afro- Haitian, in addition to Jazz, Ballet, and Modern dance classes. As a dance major, one could choose to obtain a degree in Performance and Choreography or Ethnic Dance. I applaud SFSU for having offered such an option when most universities at the time did not even recognize ethnic dance. However, making a distinction between Performance and Choreography and Ethnic Dance is an issue. In the context of dance, if we define “performance” as polished, technique-based movement that is presented to an audience, and “choreography” as a tool for artistic expression through movement, this distinction implies that ethnic dance is not a technique-based and performance-oriented study, and not a means for artistic expression. In fact it seems to be defined as a cultural study of natives of OTHER countries within the context of dance and movement, a subject that may be more relevant to the university’s Anthropology department. Finding a place for Ethnic Dance in the academic dance programs has not been easy. This is a problem multicultural choreographers still face today. Ethnic Dance purists are often so concerned about cultural authenticity that they look through dances with a fine-toothed comb for any movement or piece of costume that seems unauthentic, meaning culturally, regionally or historically incorrect. Unfortunately artistic license and expression become greatly hindered with this narrow view, especially when these views overlook the fact that World Dances are evolving and not stagnant in time, and that artists residing in these OTHER countries are simply trying to express themselves through a set of aesthetics embedded in their culture. So, unless a choreographer is presenting a “period” piece as a documentary work, some artistic license should be given. After all, isn’t the job of an artist, living anywhere in the world, to express individual thoughts or feelings through their art? In the last two decades, Ethnic Dance– now often referred to as World dance- has not only been recognized in more colleges and universities, but the line separating Western dance styles such as Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, and World dances is supposedly becoming thinner. The reason I use the word “supposedly” is that my experience tells otherwise. Dancers and dance educators who are trained in “classical” (i.e. Ballet) or “modern” dance often view World dance as solely “folkloric”, regional, multi-generational dances meant to preserve the identities of tribes, and not intended for an audience. Most of them do not consider World dance a technique-based, performance-oriented movement style created for the stage, and certainly not an art form capable of expressing thought- provoking concepts or addressing contemporary social issues. I was born and raised in Iran and grew up doing Persian dance in social settings. In the US, I studied Western dance styles such as Jazz, Modern, Ballet, and received a BA in Dance and MA in Creative Arts. So, my formal training has been in Western dance, while my aesthetic tendencies and artistic inclination are founded on Persian culture. Years of exploration both within and outside of myself in striving to find my artistic voice, have resulted in recognizing aesthetics distinct to Persian culture, and refining the intuitive Persian style of movement into a codified technique I now call Contemporary Persian Ballet. “Contemporary” because it is created in the 21st century and not a replica of dances of 17th or 18th century, “Persian” because of its obvious Persian flavor/motif, and “Ballet” because I do it with attention to form and structure. I have found that there are body positions, lines, and movement transitions with specific intentionality which reflect distinct aesthetics in Persian culture, and have detected those aesthetics in other Persian art media, such as calligraphy, architecture, painting, and music. In other words, there exists a & quot ;technique& quot ; for Persian dance that is just as involved and perhaps more detailed than Western ballet. My movement and choreographic style are very Persian, yet involve some ballet and modern dance technique; not what one may refer to as “Ethnic” or “World” dance by the definition described above. My dances do not represent tribal dances of particular regions in Iran. My dances are expressions of my emotions, using combinations of movement that are founded upon Persian aesthetics and cultural nuances, assembled with attention to the dynamic relationship between music and movement, such that a “Persian” flavor is created similar to that of Persian poetry, sculpture, architecture, etc. For years I have taught Modern and Jazz dance classes at various colleges, but have been interested in teaching my style of dance in those environments. With the growing openness to world dance styles, I thought this could be a very real possibility. This hope was almost confirmed when I was asked to teach Persian dance at a university in Northern CA. However, for the four years that I taught Persian dance at this university, no dance majors enrolled in my class, nor was I ever allowed to present my choreography in the university’s dance productions. When I asked if I could work with the dance majors to have one of my pieces performed at the school concert, the reply was that they already had an “ethnic” dance in the program, and that was West African dance. In other words, their “ethnic” quota was met and therefore there was no need to bother with any other “ethnic” dance. There was a very clear line drawn “ethnic” dance and Modern dance, and an obvious hesitation in allowing a contamination of the Modern dance program with other dance forms. This is ironic because Modern dance itself was born out of a rebellious movement against the rigidity of classical ballet, and was meant to encompass all dance styles that are authentic to the body without stylistic distinctions; sort of a dance without borders idea. In Northern CA there is much talk about multiculturalism and the melting pot of music and dance styles and yet when it comes to academia, the scales shift to Western dances

(i.e. ballet, modern, jazz). Is this the best we can do?