The place of origin is Nagorno-Karabakh.[10][11] The origination of the dance is claimed by both Armenians and Azerbaijanis alike due to the fact that both nations lived in Karabakh, where the Uzundere valley is located.[12] According to Azerbaijani scholars, the dance originates in a Uzundara valley between Aghdam and Baş Qərvənd in the region of Karabakh.[13] According to another explanation, the dance was brought to the region by Armenians from Erzurum, who fled from the Ottoman Empire in 1828 during the Russian-Turkish war.[14]
Translated from Azerbaijani,[15][16][17] the word Uzundara means "long gorge"[18] or "long valley".[19] The word Uzundara itself comes from the word "Uzun", which is of Old Turkic origin and means "long", and the word "Dara", which is of Persian origin and means "gorge".[20] Armenian ethnographer Srbuhi Lisitsian notes that "dara", in addition to a "gorge", can also mean a "pit".[21]
The dance is performed easily, smoothly. Circular strokes and small lateral steps are coordinated with gentle movements.[9] It has a 3-part structure, with more active movement in the outer parts and smooth in the middle. A typical method of melodic development is the variation of two-, three- and four-bar motives.[7]
According to Tamara Stepanovna Tkachenko, three elements alternate in Uzundara in the following order: moves in a circle, "syzme" (small, "floating" steps)[7] and small movements forward or from side to side such as "khyrdalyk". She described those elements as "main elements of Azerbaijani female dance",[22] while pointing out that "syzme" is an "integral part of Armenian dance".[23] Tkachenko also noted that in Armenia, the lyrical dance of the bride was performed after the solemn dances of the matchmaker, parents, and groom, to the melodies of "Uzundara", "Nunufar" or "Rangi".[24]
Melody of Uzundara dance at the opening of Kharibulbul Festival in Shusha performed by Azerbaijanikamancheh players
^Николай Иосифович Эльяш Балет народов СССР. — Знание, 1977. — p. 59. — 166 pp.
^Узандара // Краткий словарь танцев / под ред. проф. А.В. Филиппова. — Москва: ФЛИНТА, Наука, 2011. — С. 220. УЗАНДАРА — старинный армянский (также и азербайджанский) народный танец спокойного и изящного характера. [UZANDARA is an ancient Armenian folk dance of a calm and graceful character.]
^Ткаченко, 1967, с. 307: Этот танец также характерен для Армении. [This dance is also typical for Armenia.]
^Vavilov, Sergei Ivanovich; Shaumian, L. S. (1950). Bol'shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia (in Russian). Izd-vo Bol'shaia sovetskaia entsiklopediia. УЗУНДАРА — азербайджанский народный сольный танец... [UZUNDARA - Azerbaijani folk solo dance...]
^Большой энцклопедический словарь: Музыка (in Russian). Научное изд-во "Большая Российская энциклопедия". 1998. ISBN978-5-85270-254-8. Узундара (букв. — длинное ущелье) — азерб. нар. сольный женский танец. [Uzundara (literally — long gorge) — Azerb. solo female dance.]
^Т. С. Ткаченко. Азербайджанский женский танец «Узундара» [Azerbaijani female dance «Uzundara»] // Народный танец / под ред. Н. И. Львова. — М.: Искусство, 1967. — 656 с.
^ abUzundara // Big Soviet Encyclopedia, 1965. — V. 44. — P. 50.
^Tkachenko, 1967, p. 274: The ancient dance "Uzundara" (literally - "long gorge") originated in Nagorno-Karabakh as a dance of a girl - a bride [Старинный танец «Узундара» (дословно — « длинное ущелье») зародился в Нагорном Карабахе как танец девушки-невесты]
^Peoples of the Caucasus. Volume 2. Edited by B.A. Gardanov, A.N. Guliev, S.T. Eremyan, L.I. Lavrov, G.A. Nersesov, G.S. Chitai. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1962. - Peoples of the World: Ethnographic Essays. P. 163: The "Uzundere" dance was exclusively wedding dance. It originated in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Uzundere area, which means "long gorge". ["Исключительно свадебным был танец «узундере».Он зародился в Нагорном Карабахе, в местности Узундере, что значит «длинное ущелье»."]
^Kamal Hasanov (1978). Valeria Uralskaya (ed.). Azerbaijani Folk Dances(PDF). Moscow: "Iskusstvo" publishing house: Research Institute of Culture. OCLC14699597. Armenians also claim authorship of this dance. This is due to the fact that many Armenians live in Karabakh, where the Uzundere valley is located.
^Uzundərə // Muğam Ensiklopediyası / Edited by T. Mammadov — Baku, 2008. — P. 197.
^Lisitsian, Srbuhi (1958). Старинные пляски и театральные представления армянского народа (in Russian). Vol. I. Yerevan: АН АрмССР. pp. 343–344.
^Tkachenko, 1967 , p. 311:『В танце в определенном порядке чередовались три основных элемента азербайджанского женского танца: ходы по кругу, «сюзмэ» и мелкие движения вперед или из стороны в сторону типа «хырдалык».』["The three main elements of Azerbaijani female dance alternate in Uzundara in a certain order: moves in a circle, "syzme" and small movements forward or from side to side such as "khyrdalyk".]
^Т.С. Ткаченко. Основные движения армянского танца // Народный танец. — Искусство, 1954. — p. 500.
^Tamara Stepanovna Tkachenko: Армянский танец // Народный танец. — Искусство, 1954. — p. 481
