Turkestan A Batcha and his admirers kneeling on the floor From the fourth to eighth centuries the professional dancers of Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent were so widely known that they were in demand at the court of the Chinese emperor. The Arab invasion of Central Asia in the 7th century and adoption of Islam promoted sexual segregation and the practice of veiling. Women danced for each other in the ich kari, or women誷 quarters. Public performances of dance were the domain of the batcha or dancing boy, who dressed in women誷 clothing, wore make-up, and mimicked female ways. A notable exception to this practice were the female court dancersdepicted in miniature paintings which illustrated manuscripts produced in this area from the middle ages until the ninteenth century. The surviving dance heritage of the Uzbek people includes both folklore and professional traditions. Folk dances fall into two general categories: dances performed at a specific time and linked to specific occasions, and dances performed at any time for entertainment.