The Biopolitics of Dance in Twentieth-Century Iran
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Body National in Motion: The Biopolitics of Dance in Twentieth-Century Iran by Ida Meftahi A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto © Copyright by Ida Meftahi 2013 Body National in Motion: The Biopolitics of Dance in Twentieth-Century Iran Ida Meftahi Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto 2013 Abstract This transdisciplinary historiographical dissertation elucidates the ways in which dancing bodies have provided evidence for competing representations of modernity, urbanity, and Islam throughout the twentieth century. Linking the sociopolitical discourses on performance with the staged public dancer, this study interrogates the formation of dominant categories of “modern,” “high,” and “artistic,” and the subsequent “othering” of cultural realms that were discursively peripheralized from the “national” stage. Through utilizing and probing a wide variety of textual and visual sources, this inquiry offers a history of corporeality centered on the transformation of the staged dancing body, its space of performance, and its spectatorial cultural ideology. ii The process of gender modernity in early twentieth-century Iran led to the heteronormalization of theatrical space and the emergence of a public female performer of the genre “national dance” (raqs-i milli). Often depicted as an angel or a princess, this ideal female construct enacted the narratives of the nation on the prestigious “national” stage of the Pahlavi period (1926–79). Her contrasting counterpart was the provocative “cabaret dancer” (raqqas) who rose to prominence in the then expanding private-sector entertainment industry. The cabaret dancer’s “enticing” presence prompted the wide circulation of social narratives that identified her with prostitution and led to the construction of a widely depicted dancer- prostitute character type in Iranian pre-revolutionary cinema. Symbolizing “degeneration” (ibtazil) and “eroticism” (shahvat) in the revolutionary discourse, she became an emblem of the “social ills” under the Pahlavi regime. The 1979 Revolution eliminated all forms of dance from the public stage until the genre “rhythmic movements” (harikat-i mawzun) introduced a chaste theatrical dancing subject. Purged from the corporeal characteristics of the pre- revolutionary cabaret dancer that signified degeneration and eroticism, the performer of rhythmic movements has been enacting the narratives of Islam and the state on the post- revolutionary stage. iii To my life partner Arash My mother Sorayya And my dance mother Farzaneh iv Acknowledgment I am indebted to my supervisor Professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi for his patience, guidance, energy, creativity, his sheer insightfulness, and his exceptional gift for inciting critical thinking and the problematization of cultural and academic stereotypes in my work. My deepest appreciation goes to Professor Stephen Johnson for his unconditional support and encouragement and for generously sharing his immense knowledge and experience, as well as for keeping my academic life connected to the world of performance studies. To Professor James Reilly I am deeply grateful for going over and above the call of duty as a committee member—he also helped me expand my academic horizon beyond Iran during the several semesters that I was his teaching assistant. I extend my gratitude to Professor Amir Hassanpour, who oversaw the initial years of my doctoral research during which I drew much energy from his ability to instill in me a spirit of resistance; I thank him for all his encouragement, which continues to this day. Professor Selma Odom, who supervised my research at the master’s level, I credit with inciting my interest in dance studies and initiating my academic career. I continue to benefit from her ongoing support and selfless guidance. And from Professor Afsaneh Najmabadi, in addition to drawing much inspiration from her pioneering scholarship, I have also received invaluable and thorough feedback from her reading of my dissertation as the external examiner on my committee. I look forward to benefiting from her mentorship in future. Professor Shahrzad Mojab was not only an influential member of my defense committee, I have also been inspired by her academic integrity and courage to engage with topics that require a sincere dedication to social justice. Professor Rivanne Sandler’s experience and knowledge of Iranian women’s literature added a fresh perspective to my defense. I also benefited from her commentary during the defense, as it will further improve my dissertation. I would like to also thank Professors Anthony Shay, Houshang v Chehabi, and Bruce Barton for reading sections of this work and for giving insightful comments. This project would never have materialized without the tens of interviewees, performers, and scholars who courageously shared their knowledge, lived experiences, and artistry and selflessly helped me along this path. They shall remain anonymous; nevertheless, I am eternally indebted to them. Film scholar Abbas Bahaloo generously granted me access to his personal archive and also shared his invaluable knowledge of Iranian cinema, which was instrumental in shaping the fourth chapter of my dissertation. The pioneering ethnomusicologist Professor Sasan Fatemi shared his unpublished research and extensive knowledge on the mutribi sphere. My uncle, Dr. Moussa Ghaninejad, was quite literally my pathway into a vast number of archives. Without his unconditional help, I could not have succeeded in this research. I am indebted to Dr. Elaheh Omidyar and the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute for providing me with a generous fellowship for 2011-2012 that facilitated my archival research. My colleague Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan took time out of her busy schedule to read several drafts of my dissertation. I benefited much from her comments, energy, and passion. Farzaneh Hemmasi mentored me along my academic path by sharing her know-how on surviving life as a doctoral candidate. I am thankful to my performance studies colleagues Shelly Liebembuk, Paromita Kar, and Samantha Mehra for reading different versions of this dissertation and providing useful feedback. I am thankful to Azar Masumi, Seika Boye, Arezu Afshar, Janet Alexanian, and Mr. Shahbazi for their tremendous help and support. Finally, if it were not for the camaraderie and support of my colleagues at the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations —Golbarg Rekabtalaei, Hamid Rezaeiyazdi, Arshavez Mozaffari, and Jairan Gahan—this journey would have been a solitary one. vi Last but certainly not least, my life partner Arash Bateni bore a lot of this burden with me. He provided a supportive and caring home in which I received the lion’s share of the love and energy needed to complete such a burdensome task. His humor, understanding, unconditional love, and overwhelming support helped me tremendously along the way. I also would like to thank my parents, extended family, and friends for their tremendous support. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 Dancing Angels and Princesses: The Invention of an Ideal Female National Dancer in Twentieth-Century Iran .............................................. 17 Chapter 3 The Cabaret Dancer in Her Quotidian Life ............................................... 49 Chapter 4 Dancing Bodies in Pre-Revolutionary Films and the “Enticing” Reel Cabaret Dancer ....................................................................................... 89 Chapter 5 The Dancing Body in the Erotophobic Islamic Press Discourse of Pre- Revolutionary Iran .................................................................................. 126 Chapter 6 Sacred or Dissident: Islam, Embodiment, and Subjectivity in Post- Revolutionary Iranian Theatrical Dance ................................................. 145 Chapter 7 Dance, Body, Space, and Subjectivity on the Twentieth-Century Iranian Stage ...................................................................................................... 167 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 179 Appendix ................................................................................................................ 210 viii Chapter 1 Introduction This transdisciplinary historiographical dissertation offers a narrative of corporeality in modern Iran centered on the transformation of the staged dancing body, its space of performance, and its spectatorial cultural ideology. It analyzes the ways in which dancing bodies have provided evidence for competing representations of modernity, urbanity, and Islam throughout the twentieth century. This dissertation focuses particularly on three theatrical Iranian dance genres (as discourses) which emerged in the twentieth century. These include the “national dance” (raqs-i milli) of the Pahlavi era (1925–79); cabaret dancing of the post-1940 era (onstage and on cinema screens); and the post-revolutionary genre called “rhythmic movements” (harikat-i mawzun).1 Each genre is studied as an artistic product conditioned by multiple social, cultural, political, economic and ideological factors. Exploring the socio-historical milieu of performance, this dissertation