Dance, Music, and Performing Arts of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Islamic Southeast Asia () and The Institute of Ismaili Studies (敁珗曄部) invite you to the Fourth Symposium on Dance, Music, and Performing Arts of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Islamic Southeast Asia.
Music, dance and spirituality in Muslim contexts
Few areas of dance research and writing have been as underrepresented or misunderstood in scholarly literature as the dance and music traditions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Central Asia (CA), and Islamic Southeast Asia (SEA), whether in historical or contemporary contexts of performance.
This years international conference, jointly sponsored by The Institute of Ismaili Studies in London and MENACASEA, is dedicated to exploring the link between dance, movement, music, and spirituality in Muslim contexts. The conference aims to encourage an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the connection between dance, music, and spiritual practices, as well as how such practices inspire artists to create powerful theatrical works and choreographies that bring joy, comfort, healing, and spiritual meaning to participants and audiences alike.
Spiritual and cultural practices of movement and musical expression
For millions of individuals who identify as Muslims, music and movement play a central role in religious and spiritual life. Practices such as Alevi worship (cem) in T羹rkiye, funeral rites in Tajikistan and Iranian Luristan, 堝櫻娶 rituals across Egypt and the Persian Gulf, 喧硃尪硃堝勳聆聆硃 religious theatre in Iran, the 堝喝娶域堯櫻紳梗堯 martial arts practices throughout the Persianate world, and diverse Sufi practices throughout the Islamic world vividly demonstrate the significance of music and dance among Muslims of various denominations. These practices rely on rhythmic, patterned movement, dance, and music for participants to attain spiritual elevation and fulfillment. Musical performances including folk dance and song, family-based musical traditions, and solo improvised dance practices also serve as vital means of expressing identity and belonging.
While dance often follow musical rhythm, movement can also be a patterned or non-patterned, raising important questions about the interrelationship between spirituality and music, dance, and movement. This also opens a larger question: when is patterned movement dance, and when is it something else, non-dance patterned movement?
Such questions have long been debated by scholars and practitioners seeking to understand how humans express devotion, love, and emotion through embodied and musical means that are deeply personal yet capable of evoking diverse emotional responses across audiences and contexts.
Perspectives on music and dance in Islamic thought
For over a millennium, Muslim intellectuals have reflected on the power of music, theorizing its nature and its role in strengthening faith. The epistles of the Ikhwn al-廜糎f尨From Arabic, lit. Brethren of Purity, a group of learned scholars who were based in Basra and Baghdad around the last quarter of the t10th century CE. It is more… (the Brethren of Purity) rank music among the essential sciences. Muslim scholars such as al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, among many others, devoted special treatises to music, emphasizing its transcendent nature, healing power and its ability to inspire, console, soothe, and elevate the human soul. Classical Islamic philosophical writings on music continue to inform contemporary scholarly discussions about its ethical, spiritual, and social dimensions, including its contribution to harmony and peace.
The conference aims to encourage critical exchanges on theories of dance, movement, music, and spirituality, as well as their practical applications across MENACASEA regions and diasporic contexts. While papers on other topics related to performance in the MENACASEA region will be considered, priority will be given to submissions that directly engage with the conference theme.
Participation and submission information
This three-day hybrid conference will be held at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London on 28-30 October 2026. In addition to experts in the field, we encourage the participation from Ph.D. candidates, early-career scholars, and artists. The conference will be recorded and made available to participants.
A volume of the selected papers of this conference will be published. Authors wishing to be considered for publication, must bring a completed draft of the proposed chapter to the conference. Oral presentation will be 20 minutes in length (about 3000 words). Written papers should be 6,000- 10,000 words.
For more information and to participate, please submit your abstract (250 words) and a short bio using the following
For enquiries, please contact: dmsconference@iis.ac.uk
Important dates
- 1 May 2026 – Abstract submission deadline
- 1 June 2026 – Notification of acceptance
- 2830 October 2026 – Conference dates
