Silk Road Dance Company

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much do you charge?

A. Our fees can range from as little as $500 for a short presentation to as much as $5,000
for an elaborate concert with a large cast requiring a tech rehearsal, backdrops, dozens
of costumes and more. There are additional costs for performances that are out-of-state
and out-of-country By sharing the details of your event, we can tailor our presentation
to fit your budget and entertainment needs.

Q. Do you perform for charities?

A. Yes, we donate several performances annually to charitable causes, but please keep in
mind that Silk Road Dance Company is itself a 501(c)3 non-profit tax exempt arts organization
that depends in large part on performance revenues to cover our operating expenses.

Our Board of Directors decides on charitable performances on a case-to-case basis, so please
contact us if you believe your group might qualify.

Silk Road Dance Company has been included in the Maryland Touring Artist Roster which provides
fee subsidy support for qualifying Maryland non-profits. Contact us for details.

Q. Do you travel?

A. Yes! As an ensemble, Silk Road Dance Company has performed in 16 states and four foreign
countries and over 9 countries as individual artists. We frequently travel, but clients are expected
to cover transportation, accommodations, and a per diem in addition to our artists' fees.

Q. Can you make a dance to my favorite song?

A. Our Artistic Director, Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray, is an award-winning choreographer. She has
created custom choreographies, but these special orders have an additional cost and
require sufficient advance notice. Comissioning a new dance "from scratch" is similar to
ordering a custom-made designer gown instead of buying something "off the rack."
Please consult with us to determine whether this is the right choice for your budget.

Q. Can I come to your rehearsal?

A. Normally we do not allow guests at our rehearsals since they are focused work sessions
and quite different from our performances. Dancers are not in costume or make up. We
often start and stop when polishing details, so it is quite different from a concert experience.

The best way to get an idea about our presentations is to attend a performance or view
one of our many videos on our YouTube channel.

Silk Road Dance Company®
Cultural Understanding through Beauty and Delight

Founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray, the award-winning, critically acclaimed Silk Road Dance Company® presents an extensive repertoire of dances from Central Asia, Iran, the Middle East, the Caucasus and beyond. Silk Road Dance Company® has given performances internationally in Uzbekistan, Qatar, Singapore, and Canada. With the goal of promoting “cultural understanding through Beauty and Delight,” their pioneering dance presentations offer a unique glimpse of the life and art of ancient cultures, especially the Islamic World. The ensemble performs Afghani, Algerian, Ancient Egyptian, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bollywood, Classical Persian, Crimean Tatar, Chinese, Egyptian, Georgian, Indian, Iranian, Iraqi, Kazakh, Kurdish, Moroccan, Russian Romani (“Gypsy”),Tajik, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Uzbek, and Uighur dances.

Silk Road Dance Company® has performed at Washington DC’s most prestigious venues, including the White House and the Kennedy Center. They have appeared at events for the Embassies of Egypt, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. They are frequently engaged for festivals and celebrations in the Iranian, Afghan, Turkish, Pakistani, Egyptian, Lebanese, Algerian, Uzbek, Tajik and other Central Asian communities. They were the first American dance ensemble to win an invitation to perform in Samarkand, Uzbekistan at the UNESCO-sponsored Sharq Taronalari (Melodies of the East) International Festival. SRDC has been the subject of BBC, VOA, Uzbek, Tajik, Azerbaijani, and Arab television broadcasts.

Silk Road Dance Company performs annually at Iranian celebrations in the Washington, DC, area, most notably the annual Nowruz Commission Gala and the Nowruz Festival held in Virginia. In 2015, Silk Road Dance Company performed as featured entertainment at the historic White House Nowruz Celebration, introduced by First Lady Michele Obama. Singapore’s Asian Civilizations Museum engaged the ensemble to perform during their Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum exhibit in 2012. In 2011, Silk Road Dance Company performed at the world’s largest Iranian arts event - Toronto’s Tirgan Festival.

True to the spirit of the original Silk Road, the ethnically diverse artists of Silk Road Dance Company come from different backgrounds. Many were born in Silk Road countries or share a family heritage that links them to nations of the East.

Silk Road Dance Company offers programs with a cultural depth and breadth reflecting decades of field research and study by Dr. Gray who teaches World Dance at George Washington University; she has received many awards for her life-time of creative work and scholarship. Her choreographies, costumes, and concert concepts are reflected in an impressive body of work: Dances of Uzbekistan (2014); The Pearl of the Gulf (2013); Bollywood Fever (2012); Raqaset Shaabia: Arab Folklore (2009); Legends of the Silk Road (2008); Gul Bahaar: A Celebration of Uzbek, Indian and Persian Dance (2007); The Golden Road to Samarkand (2006); Haft Paykar: Seven Beauties (2005); Egypta: Myth, Magic, and Mystery (2003); Remembering the Legends (2001); The Lion and the Sun: Dances of the Old Persian Empire (1998.)

Please contact us for details.