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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.

AVAZ
International Dance Theatre

By Dick Oakes


THIS IS HISTORICAL INFORMATION ONLY

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Avaz 1979 The AVAZ International Dance Theatre was founded in 1977 under the artistic direction of choreographer Dr. Anthony Shay, and was formed by Heritage & Tradition, Inc., a non-profit educational, corporation dedicated to the promulgation of world folk culture. From its founding, AVAZ traveled locally, nationally and internationally presenting the dances, music, costumes, and customs of diverse regions of the world from the Balkans, Hungary, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, the area of Caucsia, North Africa, and Uzbekistan, among others.

The mission of AVAZ contained two important aspects: 1) preserving and performing traditional and folk dance and music from a wide variety of cultures and 2) educating the widest possible audience about these art forms and the societies and peoples they represent. AVAZ fulfilled this mission through performances by its professional ensemble of artists, both in Southern California and nationally, and through an extensive educational outreach program that served elementary, middle and high school pupils, college and university students, community organizations, and the general public.

In the view of Shay, the stage presentation of traditional / ethnic / folk dances, songs, music, costumes, and customs required authentication and documentation. This was done through hours of dedicated and intensive research in the form of bibliographic searching, studying scholarly books and articles in a variety of languages, viewing and reviewing video cassettes, attending master classes at home and abroad, traveling abroad to visit museums, and interviewing knowledgeable performers and scholars. Due to this exacting research, AVAZ was highly respected in the artistic and academic community for its attention to authentic detail and nuance in movement, sound, and costuming.

From 1954, Shay had amassed an impressive research library containing thousands of rare works on costume history and production, dance, music, and ethnography, all of which were utilized in the design and production of many of the costumes, sounds, and dances found in a typical AVAZ evening.

From the beginning, AVAZ maintained intensive relationships with the ethnic communities whose traditions the company portrayed on stage, and many of the company's board members and performers came from these communities.


VIDEOS

AVAZ Videos


Click HERE to see AVAZ videos!


PHOTOS

AVAZ Collage

 

  AVAZ - Art Aratin

 

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1985

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1985

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Dasmaly, 1987

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Kata Uyin, 1987

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Motreb dances, 1987

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Posavski Plesovi, 1987

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Čestoto, 1989


ADVERTISING

AVAZ

1981

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1985

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1987


FLYERS

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1977

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1978

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1978

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1979

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1980

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1980

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1980

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1981

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1982

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1982

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1982

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1983

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1984

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1985

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1987

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1989

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1990


PROGRAMS

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Spring Concert, 1979

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Spring Concert, 1980

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Dances and Music of the Silk Road, 1999


PERFORMANCES

Because most of Dr. Shay's works were intended for repertory companies, they received multiple performances, sometimes more than a hundred times. Im Anush Daviq, an Armenian choreography he composed in 1979, was a permanent part of the AVAZ repertoire for many years and received at least 200 performances during that time period. Following are some of the dances and suites that Dr. Shay choreographed for AVAZ.

NAME AREA YEAR
     
Raqs-e Ayineh Iran 1997
Raqs-e shadi Iran 1997
Armenian Suite Armenia 1996
Raqs-e ghuri Tajikistan 1996
Çiftetelli Suite Ottoman Turkey 1995
Dabka Suite Jordan 1995
Ferghanin usuli Uzbekistan 1995
Mouashshahat Lebanon 1995
Dances of the Ghawazi Egypt 1994
Ghawazi Dance Egypt 1994
Tak-NAVAZi Iran 1994
Usul-e Samarqandi Uzbekistan 1994
Dances of Bojnurd Iran 1993
Kartuli Georgia 1993
Raqs-e mojassameh Iran 1993
Taverna III Greece 1993
Bazi-ha-ye namayeshi Iran 1992
Dances of Split Croatia 1992
Dances of Posavina V Croatia 1991
Azerbaijan Suite III Azerbaijan 1990
Dances of Pokuplje Croatia 1987
Căluşari Romania 1986
Kurdish Suite Iran/Iraq 1986
Running Sets II USA 1986
Dance of Qaraqanah Tunisia 1985
The Dancing Out Hungary 1985
Dance of Qajar Court Iran 1984
Dances of Šumadija IV Serbia 1984
Balun II Croatia 1983
Kochari Armenia 1983
Running Sets I USA 1983
Dances of Baluchistan Iran 1982
Dasmali Azerbaijan 1981
Ballos from Sifnos Greece 1980
Dances of Torbat Jam Iran 1980
Čoček Serbia 1980
Motreban Iran 1980
Persian Gulf Suite Iran 1979
Dances of Posavina IV Croatia 1979
Qazaqi III Azerbaijan 1979
Shateri I Iran 1979
Banat Suite III Serbia 1978
Im Anush Daviq Armenia 1978
Raqs-e Chupi Iran 1978
Katta Uyin Uzbekistan 1978
Bandari (Persian Gulf) Iran 1977
     
The following were choreographed for AMAN Folk Ensemble and later re-choreographed for AVAZ.
     
Kraljice Croatia 1972
Linđo Croatia 1969
Thracian Suite Bulgaria 1968
Dances of Bukhara Uzbekistan 1967
Bunjevačko Momačko II No. Serbia 1966
Katanka Serbia 1965
Dances of Eastern Serbia Serbia 1964
Dajčovo Horo II Bulgaria 1963
Šop Suite Bulgaria 1963