SILK ROAD JOY: DANCE & CHAI

The first gathering at Global Gardens

Silk Road Joy is a pilot project by Bazm, built around the idea of Gather, Move, Share.

Bazm is interested in exploring how we can experience and practise culture through gathering, movement, food and creativity. In contemporary life, we often experience culture by consuming it, visiting museums, going to concerts, watching performances or reading about it. But there are fewer opportunities to actually practise culture together.

Silk Road Joy is an exploration of how we can bring culture into our bodies and everyday lives through gathering. It asks: what happens when culture is not something we only watch or learn about, but something we move, make, taste and share together?

The first gathering, Dance & Chai, took place on Saturday 29 August at Global Gardens, outdoors under the apple tree.

Arriving in the body

We began by slowing down, breathing and simple practices to bring our attention back to the body.

We were invited to gently stroke and touch different parts of our bodies, noticing how it feels to be present in our own skin. We then moved into shaking, tapping and stretching, starting from the neck and slowly travelling through the body towards the ankles.

Many of us took our shoes off and experienced the gathering barefoot, connecting with the grass and the ground underneath us.

Before moving into the dance part, we talked about an important idea: this was not a dance class.

Instead, it was an invitation to explore the possibilities of movement. Different cultures have developed their own ways of moving, with different gestures, rhythms and ways of using the body. We wanted to share some of these movements, play with them, improvise and discover what happens when we bring them together.

We explored movements inspired by cultures connected through the Silk Road, including Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. We shared around eight different movements and gestures, many of which had interesting similarities, especially in the upper body.

The idea was to add these movements to our own personal movement dictionary, and to think about how culture can be something we practise through our bodies.

Then the music started.

We formed a circle and danced together, moving between the different gestures we had explored and creating our own little fusion of movements. We danced to music by Sina Bathai, whose work brings a contemporary feeling to Eastern musical traditions.

From movement to the table

After dancing, we took a short break. People had time to explore the garden, have a chat and simply enjoy being outside.

Then we gathered around the table.

The table was covered with a traditional Persian tablecloth in blue, turquoise and gold, and filled with colourful ingredients and spices: rosebuds, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, dates and coconut powder.

You could smell the spices before we even started making anything.

We began by making Ranginak, a simple Persian sweet made with dates and walnuts or pecans, rosewater and coconut.

Everyone made their own. We removed the stones from the dates and replaced them with a walnut or pecan, then dipped the dates in rosewater and rolled them in coconut powder. Some people made one, while others made two or three.

It was a very simple recipe, but the process of making something with our hands and then sharing it together was very joyful.

Persian Chai

Next, we made Persian-style chai.

We had black tea leaves, cardamom pods, rosebuds and cinnamon sticks. Everyone had the chance to smell and explore the different spices first, engaging with the experience through our sense of smell as well as taste.

We added the ingredients to the teapot, poured over boiling water and left the tea to brew.

The chai was served in small traditional Persian glasses with golden rims, alongside the Ranginak we had made together.

As we drank our tea, we talked a little about Persian culture and traditions, and also got to know each other.

Although the forecast had suggested rain, we were lucky to have beautiful sunshine. Dancing barefoot under the apple tree, followed by chai and Ranginak in the garden, made the afternoon very special.

Silk Road Joy is still a pilot project, and this was only the beginning. But the first gathering gave us a chance to explore what it might mean to experience culture through the body, through food, through making and, most importantly, through being together.

What’s next?

The journey continues on 5 September at Railway Garden, where Silk Road Joy will take another step into the world of making and sharing with Dance & Dough.

This time, we’ll explore what happens when a simple piece of dough becomes a starting point for creativity. Inspired by flatbreads found across the Silk Road, we’ll make, shape and bake together, playing with herbs, spices, nuts and different flavours.

For Bazm, these simple acts of making together are part of how culture stays alive. A recipe, a gesture, a movement or a way of gathering can travel from one person to another, change a little along the way, and become something new.

Silk Road Joy continues to explore these small moments of exchange, where culture is not something fixed, but something we can pick up, play with and pass on.

Bazm
 Gather, Move, Share 🌿

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