Publications - Robyn Friend

Dr. Friend started writing children’s books in 2005; these 11 books are published through Cascade Pass. These include:

2005 – “You can be a woman make-up artist and costume designer”
2006 – “The Women of Apollo”, about 4 women who worked on the program that first landed people on the moon
2007 – “A Clean Sky”
2008 – “A Clean City”
2009 – “A Clean Planet”
2010 – “A Clean Earth”
2012 – “Electricity and You”
2013 – “A Cleaner Port”
2015 – “Future engineering — The clean water challenge”
2015 – “Los Angeles Clean Energy Future”
2015 – “Los Angeles Water Future”

Publications in the form of video and audio recordings:

“Dances of Iran”. Solo dancing and singing by Robyn Friend, and a couple of choreographies by Robyn. Available for purchase as a DVD or PAL video cassette. Most of the content is also available on-line here.
“Dances of Central Asia”. Soloing dancing by Robyn Friend. Available for purchase as a DVD. Most of the content is also available on-line here.
“Siegel & Friend — Mostly Live”. An audio CD featuring singing by Robyn Friend, with music from Iran, Turkey, and the surrounding areas. Available for purchase here.
“Yasar Turna”. Field recordings of our friend, the late Yaşar Turna of Arhavi, Turkey. He plays the Black Sea kemenche and sings. He is accompanied by Robyn Friend, Neil Siegel, and his daughters Ciğdem and Mine. 1986 to 1989. Available on-line here.
“Morteza Varzi”. Recordings of our teacher and friend, the late Ostad Morteza Varzi, master of Persian classical art music and the Persian kemenche. He is accompanied on these tracks by Robyn Friend, Neil Siegel, Margaret Caton, Massoud Modirian, and other Persian musicians. Recorded by Neil Siegel at various dates in the 1980’s. Available on-line here.
“Music of the Qashqai”. Recordings made in Iran in 1975 by Robyn Friend of the traditional music of the Qashqai tribe. Available for purchase as a 2-CD set here. Available on-line here.

Magazine articles, academic articles, book chapters, and other items:

Persian Classical Dance as Spiritual Experience: Evidence from Expert Practitioners and Ethnography. A chapter in the book Dance in the Persianate World, edited by Anthony Shay, 2023.
El Sombrerito Qajar (Iran de siglo XIX) (en español)
Video lecture: Dance Along the Silk Road: From Xi’an to the Balkans. Pomegranate Garden Dance, 2021.
Video lecture: Selecting Music for Persian Classical Dance. Pomegranate Garden Dance, 2020.
Video lecture: Regional Dances of Iran. Pomegranate Garden Dance, 2020.
Video lecture: Qajar Period Costuming – a look at the Qajar Hat. Pomegranate Garden Dance, 2020.
Persian Classical Dance, a lecture at UCLA, 11-2020.
A brief introduction to the dance of Iran, a lecture at UCLA, 2020
Regional Dances of Iran, a lecture at UCLA, 2020
Regional Dances of Iran, a chapter in the book “Dance in Iran: Past and Present”, edited by Saloumeh Gholami. Published by Reichert Verlag, 2016.
Life in Central Asia, 2011
Tajikistan, 2009
Tajikistan, The Land of Dance — part I. Written for the “Gilded Serpent”, 2009
Tajikistan, The Land of Dance — part II. Written for the “Gilded Serpent”, 2009.
Love and Pomegranates, Artists and Wayfarers on Iran. Robyn wrote the chapter on music master Morteza Varzi.

Dance in Iran: Past and Present. Robyn wrote the chapter about regional dances of Iran.
Enveloping Ambipositions in Suleimaniye Kurdish, South Asian Languages Analysis Roundtable Conference, May 1985.
Ergativity in Suleimaniye Kurdish,
Middle Eastern Studies Association Annual Conference, November 1985.
Performer – Audience Relationships in the Bazm, Middle Eastern Studies Association Annual Conference, November 1986 (with Morteza Varzi, Margaret Caton, and Neil Siegel).
Contemporary Contexts for Iranian Professional Musical Performance, Middle Eastern Studies Association Annual Conference, November 1986 (with Neil Siegel).
Contexts for Iranian Professional Musical Performance, Los Angeles CityRoots Festival, May 1987 (with Neil Siegel and Morteza Varzi).
Ballooning on Mars: A Description of the TITAN Mars Balloon Model and a Discussion of Initial Results, July 1987 (with Thomas Heinsheimer).
Mars Balloon System Study, Space Future Forum (in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik), Moscow, USSR, October 1987 (with Jacques Blamont, James Burke, Louis Friedman, Thomas Heinsheimer, Harold Masursky, Bruce Murray, et al.).
Exploration of Mars by Balloon: Two Leading Concepts, COSPAR Conference, Espoo, Finland (with Jacques Blamont, Thomas Heinsheimer, Vladimir Linkin, Bruce Murray, et al.) (July 1988).
Bound Clitic Objects of Independent Adpositions in Suleimaniye Kurdish. Middle East Studies Association Annual Conference (November 1988).
Concepts for Autonomous Flight Control for a Balloon on Mars (with Thomas Heinsheimer and Neil Siegel), NASA conference, Huntsville, Alabama (November 1988).
Presenting Ethnic Dance on the Stage, 1992 UCLA Dance Ethnology Forum.
Chub-bazi, an entry in The Encyclopedia of Iran (1993). Actual image of article.
Dance in Iran, an entry in The Encyclopedia of Iran (1993). Actual image of article.
Iranian Music Culture in Los Angeles (with Neil G. Siegel), published by the Institute of Persian Performing Arts, 1989.
The Exquisite Art of Persian Classical Dance, First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 15, number 2, Spring 1996, pages 6-8.
Jamile — The Goddess of Persian Dance, First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 16, number 1, Winter 1997.
Status and Preservation of Iranian Dance: Cultural Factors Influencing the Iranian Attitude Concerning Dance. Paper presented at the 1st International Conference on Middle Eastern Dance, 16-18 May 1997, Orange Coast College, California.
Review of the book Crowning Anguish, an autobiographical memoir by a 19th-century Persian princess.First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 16, number 3, 1997, page 37.
Presenting Ethnic Dance on the Stage. Material first presented at a 1992 UCLA Dance Ethnology Conference. The version was first published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 17, number 3, 1999, pages 10-13.
Book review: “Irangeles”, “An Introduction to Iranian Culture”. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 15, number 3, 1996.
Concert review: “The Gold of Xian”. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 18, number 3, 2001.
Spirituality in Iranian Music and Dance: Conversations with Morteza Varzi“. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 18, number 2, 2001.
Introduction to Dance in Iran, part I“. Published on Bhuz.com, July 2001.
Introduction to Dance in Iran, part II“. Published on Bhuz.com, July 2001.
Book review: “New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies“. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 18, number 2, 2001.
Book review: “Suri and Co.: Tales of a Persian Teenage Girl“. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 18, number 2, 2001.
Concert review: International Music Academy. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, 1996.
Concert review: “Khedi at Orange Coast College“. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 17, number 3.
Viloyat Akilova: An Uzbek Dance Legend, an Uzbek Dance Heritage. First published in “Habibi, A Journal for Lovers of Middle Eastern Dance and Arts”, volume 19, number 3 (part I), and volume 19 number 4 (part II).
Click here to download (PDF format) the booklet “Cultural Parameters of Iranian Musical Expression“, edited by Margaret Caton and Neil Siegel, published by the Institute of Persian Performing Arts. Robyn contributed to two of the five articles.
Interviews with Robyn:

A Visit with Dr. Robyn C. Friend, July 2001.
Persian Dance Style, July 2001.