Dancing to music is woven into the fabric of Iranian culture and is practiced at celebrations and gatherings. In addition to the many dances of the diverse ethnic groups within the borders of Iran (e.g., Kurdish, Balouchi, Gilaki, etc.), Iranians nationwide and in the diaspora move to traditional and contemporary popular music of the central regions of the country (Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz), using a distinct movement language. Yet, the staged form of this Iranian urban dance has faced and continues to face social and political obstacles. Historical sources suggest that this movement language has existed for centuries. It has undergone aesthetic, stylistic, and presentational transformations throughout the different dynasties and is referred to by several different names (i.e., classical, miniature, national, court dance, so-called classical Iranian dance, and solo improvised Iranian dance). To this date, scholars debate over the most accurate name for this dance genre. Culturally constructed “choreophobic” views and government restrictions have both played major roles in hindering the recognition and development of this art form that shares elemental characteristics with other traditional Iranian arts in its sinuous and intricate geometric patterns and the use of symmetry. It is a language of the body but unlike the verbal language of the world-renowned Persian poems, it has never been given the artistic merit it deserves. Contextualized by a brief history of dance in Iran, and descriptions of characteristics and aesthetics of Iranian urban dance, this chapter examines the sociopolitical landscape and cultural perspectives that form the current gaze on dance as a performing art in Iran. This chapter places the long-steeped negative view of the dancing body in Iran as historically parallel to that in Western cultures, which has given rise to the creation of “classical” dance genres (e.g., Western ballet, classical flamenco). Finally, it examines the government censorship of dance in Iran, the Iranians’ fear of Western saviorism, and the trepidation of dancers in the Iranian underground sector, as they create and perform despite government restrictions, to investigate possible reasons for the Iranian society’s ambiguous relationship to dance.