Anthony Shay is a

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

specializing in dances from

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, the

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, and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. In 50 years of work he has created over 200 choreographies. Shay created and directed several dance groups: ''Village Dancers'', ''AMAN Folk Ensemble'' (AMAN International Music and Dance Company, Los Angeles, California, 1963–1977), and ''AVAZ International Dance Theatre'' (since 1977). In 1977 Shay earned a Ph.D. in dance history and theory from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, where he teaches dances of

Iranian culture The culture of Iran () or culture of PersiaYarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) is among the most influential in the world. Iran, also known as Persia, is widely considered to be one of the Cradle of civilization, cradle ...

and M.A. degrees in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. On November 18, 1995, Shay received commendations from President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

and the City Council of

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for excellence of his choreographies, honoring his forty years as a choreographic artist, during which he created over 150 works. The

Kaleidescope Festival A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when vie ...

has designated him as Distinguished California Artist in 1997. Dr. Anthony Shay has been awarded a James Irvine Fellowship in Dance for 1998 as one of the eight top choreographers in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

with a $30,000 fellowship for research in Iranian art. In 1999, he received the Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles Lester Horton award for Outstanding Achievement for the Staging of Traditional Dance. He is a five-time recipient of choreographic fellowship awards from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is also an author of several books about dance, and has published numerous articles in the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Encyclopedia of Dance, the

Journal of Iranian Studies A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

Dance Research Journal Congress on Research in Dance was a professional organization for dance historians in the United States and worldwide that was founded in 1964 and then merged in 2017 with the Society of Dance History Scholars to form the Dance Studies Association ...

, and the

Journal of Visual Anthropology A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

. In 2002, the California Arts Council awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award for “His Incomparable Service to the Art of Dance.” Congress on Research in Dance honored, among others, Anthony Shay in 2003 (''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...

'', September 2003).

Bibliography

*Choreophobia: Solo Improvised Dance in the Iranian World. Mazda Publishers, (1999) *Choreographic Politics: State Folk Dance Ensembles, Representation and Power,

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present for ...

, 2002. *Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism, And Harem Fantasy (Bibliotheca Iranica. Performing Arts Series) by Anthony Shay and Barbara Sellers-Young, 2005 *Choreographing Identities: Folk Dance, Ethnicity And Festival in the United States And Canada, 2006 *Choreographic Politics: State Folk Dance Companies, Representation, and Power, Wesleyan University Press, 2002,

References

UC Riverside Dept of Dance alumni

External links

at stanford.edu
Pomona College Dance Department
at pomona.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Shay, Anthony Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male dancers American choreographers Dance historians University of California, Riverside alumni University of California, Riverside faculty