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Dance art of Uzbekistan
Uzbek dance has been formed mostly by the ritual gestures of different religions and imitation of animals for thousands of years. UNESCO listed the Khorezmian dancing style Lazgi describes the imitation of Adam’s first move after a soul placed on him by staying still and starting to move with the tips of fingers. We can find exactly the same description in all holy books believing in Adam.
We can see the evidence of it ancient age in the archeological items, frescos of citadels and ceramic dishes, miniatures: wall paintings of dancing couples in Toprak Kala ruins (II-VI centuries); rock picture “Dancing lady” of Chelak region (Samarkand) (V century); a religious ritual dance carved on the Yakkabog stone (Kashkadarya) (VII century); miniature of Mahmud Muzakhhiba – “Dancers” and others.
Ancient dances like “Katta uyin” (by the rhythm of doira), family dances “Khona bazm uyin”, Khorezm dance with flames –“Otash uyin”, Bukhara female dance (performed only on knees), “Besh karsak” (performed by the men of Samarkand mountains) have reached to us and rural people are still keeping to them. There are 5 dancing style schools in Uzbekistan and each of them is unique:·

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  Ferghana-Tashkent school (smoothness and softness of gestures describing lyric stories)·
  
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  Bukhara school (a wide variety of gestures and a sharp change in the mood)·
  
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  Khorezm school (sharpness and complex of movements)·
  
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  Surkhandarya school (lightness and the vigorousness of gait. Use household attributes-spinning wheels…)·
  
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  Karakalpakstan school (tremulous movement of the body, including virtuoso leg movements, sophisticated and complex arm gestures, and unusual shoulder and head gestures) 
  

Both genders can choose a dancer’s profession. Mostly, their dancing styles and categories are disparate. But sometimes lady dancers can dance by men’s style! Believe us, it is really amazing! The following dances “Dilkhiroj”, “Andijon polkasi”, “Tanovar”, “a dance with plov”, and “Khorazm lazgisi” have become the business card of Uzbekistan in the World arena. The Uzbek nation is an event-lover. Any type of event (weddings, anniversaries, festivals, holidays….) cannot be arranged without a dance! Thus, there is a big demand for dance and it is developing quite noticeably. To promote the charm of Uzbek dance art, every year in September Uzbekistan arranges the International festival “Magic of Dance” in historical Khiva.
Askiya
Askiya (the art of cuteness) is a genre of oral folk art based on demonstrating the beauty of the language through play, the formation of words of direct meaning to a figurative meaning. It is a debate or exchange of cuteness in a joking manner between two or more men over a certain subject. At the same time, participants should be extremely careful in using every word and phrase so that Askiya should not touch the opponent’s personality. One cannot find Askiya genre in any part of the world except Ferghana valley and Tashkent regions. One of the most unique genres of folklore, Askiya, which has improved over the centuries, has risen to the level of oral art. Askiya, as an intangible cultural heritage of mankind, was included in the Representative List of UNESCO in 2014.