Abbas Attar, 74

Abbas Attar, Who Photographed Iran’s Revolution, Dies at 74
by Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times, April 30, 2018

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Abbas Kiarostami, 76

Abbas Kiarostami, Palme d'Or-winning Iranian film-maker, dies aged 76
by Andrew Pulver and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian, July 4, 2016

Listen to their stories: women and the trauma of war

Im Heung-soon Explores the Horrors Women Endure in War
by Jason Farago, The New York Times, July 30, 2015

Simin Behbahani, 87

Simin Behbahani, Outspoken Iranian Poet, Dies at 87
by Douglas Martin, The New York Times, August 21, 2014

Marsha Mehran, 36

Marsha Mehran, Writer of Iranians’ Irish Experience, Dies at 36
by Douglas Dalby, The New York Times, May 2, 2014

Lofti Mansouri, 84

Lotfi Mansouri, S.F. Opera director 13 years, dies
by Joshua Kosman, SFGate, August 30, 2013

Dances of Iran and Afghanistan with master teacher Rana Gorgani

Anahid Sofian Dance Studio

welcomes you to

Traditional and Sacred Dances of Iran

and

Nomadic Dances of Iran and Afghanistan

two workshops and slide presentations

with Persian master dancer 

Rana Gorgani

Traditional and Sacred Dances of Iran
Saturday, June 29 (3-6pm)

Very honored and respected in ancient times, Persian Dances come directly from ancestral customs and traditions. Taught and preserved through generations, the Dance is delicate, elegant, subtle, and full of emotions, as is Persian Poetry and Arts. All the different dances of Persia have always expressed the joy of life and love.

Dance was essential in every sacred and divine rite related to the cultural environment of each people.

Drawing its roots from the heart of the Indo-European cultures, we can find in Iran more than ten style of dance, each owning its own vocabulary of the gesture, rhythms, garments, and meaning according to the region and people.

Rana Gorgani is one of the few Iranian artists promoting and preserving Persian folk and traditional dances. As an active member of the international dance council of UNESCO, her work is the result of years of research on music, customs, rites and symbols of Persia through dance. It is with authentic dresses, full of colors and amazing detail that she embodies and represents the variety of Persian peoples, revealing a rich and precious heritage. 

Nomadic Dances of Iran and Afghanistan
Sunday, June 30 (2-5pm)

Dances of Afghanistan

Afghan dance is characterized by its amazing turns and movements intense in rhythms. It is a perpetual interaction between the dancer and the public. The improvisation of the music and the dance is omnipresent, creating breaks and accelerations. In the Afghan dances, the dancer's veil holds an essential place, such as in the culture, and it is by games of "hide-and-seek" that the movements evolve and become furthermore rich in meaning, always keeping a part of mystery.

Nomadic Dances (Ghashghai)

As a symbol of unity and harmony, this dance celebrates the joyful events of the tribe, with the dancers dressed in colorful and bright dresses and waving their shiny scarves towards the sky and then the earth. Precise gestures chain up ceaselessly, reminding of all the art of the Ghashghai women, who make colored carpets called "Ghabbeh." Their dances create a kind of trance, rocked by their light and swift movements. The dances symbolize the long trip gone through every year as the seasons pass by.

Her slide show and lecture is a journey, a walk danced in the heart of Persia, a mosaic colored with wonderful traditions and the rich diversity of Persia. From Khorasan, on the road of the Ghashghai nomads across the rice fields of Gilan … on the deserts of Yazd, the country of Zoroasters, on the path to Shiraz, Persian city of the great poets … Rana guides us through Iran.

Space is limited, and registration required (no walk-ins). For fees and other information or to register, contact sofiana@tiac.net.

Anahid Sofian Studio
29 West 15th Street, 6th Floor (between 5th and 6th Avenues), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Flamenco's Leilah Broukhim to return to 92Y [UPDATE]

About a year ago (see blog post here), I advised you to keep watch for flamenco artist Leilah Broukhim who had shown an impressive preview of her developing work, Traces--a blend of Jewish, Iranian and gitano traditional culture--at 92Y. I've just gotten word that Broukhim plans to bring the completed work, now titled Dejando Huellas (Traces), to 92Y on February 25, 2012 as part of Flamenco Festival USA.

Broukhim writes:

Dejando Huellas (Traces) tells the story of a Sephardic woman through time and fuses flamenco with Sephardic and Persian music. We premiered the show to a sold-out audience at this year's Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow and just returned from another successful performance in Paris at the Museum of Art and History of Judaism. For a taste of what to expect on February 25, take a look at the show's promo video.

UPDATE: For information and 92Y ticketing, click here.

"Circumstance": forbidden love in Iran

‘Circumstance,’ Directed by Maryam Keshavarz
by A. O. Scott, The New York Times, August 25, 2011

Iranian "Circumstance"

‘Circumstance,’ a Film of Underground Life in Iran
by Larry Rohter, The New York Times, August 19, 2011

The Brick launches Iranian theater fest

Iranian Theater Festival at the Brick
by Larry Rohter, The New York Times, March 2, 2011

Tribute to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi

A Tribute to Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi

February 25-March 11

Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), Manhattan

(directions and other visitor information)

Get free tickets online.

This film series highlights the global artistic and social significance of the work of filmmaker Jafar Panahi. Even before he made international headlines for his recent affiliation with the Green Movement in Iran, Panahi was celebrated as one of the most influential cinematic voices. He has received international recognition for his work, garnering the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion, the Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear, and the Cannes Film Festival's Camera d'Or awards.

Panahi is known for his realistic and unflinching portrayal of contemporary Iranian life, treating his subjects, often women and people living on the margins of society, with deep humanism. Using non-professional actors to play characters very much like themselves, his films evoke a social urgency. Panahi was recently sentenced to a six-year prison term and a 20-year ban on filmmaking for his association with the Green Movement. The sentence is being appealed.

All films are in Persian with English subtitles.

For complete program, schedule details and free tickets, click here.

The subversive nude

Removing the Veil

by Barbara Pollack, ArtNews, December 2010

Nudity in contemporary art is tolerated increasingly in countries where it wasn't in the past.

Leilah Broukhim explores "Traces"

Last evening, the 92Y Resource Center for Jewish Diversity hosted a presentation of excerpts from Traces: A Sephardic Flamenco Journey, a work-in-progress by dancer Leilah Broukhim. A New Yorker of Persian Jewish heritage, Broukhim has lived in Spain for a decade, becoming a performer of distinct style and command. Immersing herself in flamenco on its home turf took "a lot of work, a lot of patience, a lot of humility," she later told her audience in a post-performance Q&A. 

Traces reflects Jewish, Iranian and gitano cultures and derives from Broukhim's quest to "close the circle"--to uncover the meaning of her blended identity in a narrative of her people's exile from Spain and her sense of homecoming. The excerpts were a wonderful promise. Her handsome dancing--with its simmer and its exuberance, with its proud exactitude and its Near Eastern accents--marks her for flamenco royalty.

On hand to provide some deep, delectable sounds were Saray Munoz (vocals), Pedro Cortes (guitar) and Nacho Arimany (percussion) plus--and this was a very big plus--Bahram Ji, Persian singer and master of the santur, whose powerful drive channeled irresistible joy. 

Broukhim envisions the completed work as a multidisciplinary piece with a larger musical corps and a video of art (her mother, painting) linked to the flow of the music. I liked the intimacy (if not the sightlines) of her showing at the Y, and I hope she will resist any temptation to turn Traces into a mega-production. Following the Soledad Barrio/Noche Flamenca model, keeping it reasonably small, spare and close to the audience would be ideal, and I can easily see a successful run at Theater 80 St. Marks, Barrio's usual East Village stomping ground.

Keep watch for news of Broukhim's progress, and I will certainly let you know if I hear anything worth sharing.

Upcoming 92Y dance events of note

Sundays at Three: Lionel Popkin
Sunday, December 12, 3 pm ($10)

The Los Angeles-based dancer and choreographer shows excerpts from two pieces--a section from There Is an Elephant in This Dance (2009), a clever, funny and uncanny dance about how one body can hold multiple identities; and an excerpt from a work-in-progress, Looking for Ruth, as in Ruth St. Denis. A former performer with Trisha Brown, Terry Creach and Stephanie Skura, Popkin has shown his own choreography in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Philadelphia and London. Dance Magazine has written that his work “heightened and transformed one’s perception of the theatrical space.” Q&A with Popkin following the performance. 

Dance on Camera: Richard Move

Sunday, December 19, 2:45-5 pm

In collaboration with Dance Films Association, we examine the interaction between dance and the camera. What happens when we put dance behind a lens? Examine how the filmmaker’s intention can guide everything from lighting to choreography. Joining us is downtown icon and Martha Graham-impersonator-extraordinaire, Richard Move. Move has danced with and choreographed for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rasta Thomas, Debbie Harry, Shirley Bassey and the Martha Graham Dance Company. He has also made several films: Bardo, which earned a Jury Prize nomination in the 2009 Dance on Camera Festival; Bloodwork--The Ana Mendieta Story, which won a National Board of Review award; and Ghostlight, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The 92nd Street Y

1395 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan (directions)

212-415-5500

For the courageous in Iran