July 31, Roshan - Shujand

Musarwal Minekov is one of the foremost practitioners of regional dance and music. He welcomed the team at his home in Shujand where he had arranged to bring together his group of dancers and instrumentalist to host us. Jonboz Dushanbaev from the village of Seponj in the Bartang Valley came along with us on our visit.



Many of the artists in Musarwal’s ensemble are men of the older generation. Their dances and music have sought to preserve the essence of their heritage and we hope that interest from younger generations will inspire them to continue in their art. Several highlights marked our visit.



Musarwal and Soibkadam Dastambuev showed us their instrument building workshop. Several beautiful Setars were in the process of construction, along with others in for commissioned improvements. Mr. Gulbek Bektibekov performed a Raqs-e Aspak (horse dance) with the help of Sohibkadam, we were also able to view the process of assembling the costume pieces as Mr. Bektibekov dressed for the dance. Certainly a highlight of the day was the musical interaction between Musarwal and Jonboz. Within Musarwal’s music and dance, there is an energy like a force of nature that takes effect at times.