WHAT: The incredible Shahrzad Khorsandi is making a special trip from California to NYC to share Persian dance. Seize this rare opportunity to learn directly from a celebrated master in the field.
Delve into the elegance and grace of classical Persian dance, and contrast it with Iranian Urban dance, an improvised social dance genre. The staged version of this dance style is practiced by dance artists in Iran and the diaspora.
These dance styles are both fluid and rhythmic and emphasizes expression through the motion of hands and wrists, the relationship between the face and the hands, smooth transitions between movements, and the embodiment of subtle and dynamic nuances in Persian music. The line and positioning of
the body reflect the rich and refined aesthetics of Persian culture.
In this workshop, dancers will explore the elements that define Classical Persian as well as Iranian urban dance through beautiful movement combinations. Movement vocabulary with Persian nomenclature from Shahrzad Technique will be used.
Shahrzad’s unique style of Persian dance captures and combines the dynamic expression of contemporary dance with the refined, poetically potent aesthetics of Persian culture, resulting in choreography that is both conceptual and organically expressive. All levels welcome.
WHEN: Sunday June 2nd, 12-2pm
WHERE:
Bellyqueen School @Playwrights
440 Lafayette St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003
INVESTMENT:
In-Person: $55, $50 unlimited members
Online: $28, $23 unlimited members
Sign Up Now for the In-Person Workshop
Sign Up Now for the Online Workshop
WHO: Born and raised in Iran, Shahrzad has been passionately involved in dance since childhood. She studied Dance and Performance Art at the California Institute of the Arts, and she holds a BA in Dance, as well as an MA in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University. Her dance training includes Modern, Jazz, Ballet, West African, Afro-Haitian, Congolese, and an introduction to Senegalese, Balinese and Flamenco.
Drawing upon her deep familiarity of authentic Persian dance, her formal dance training, and her intrinsic knowledge of Persian aesthetics, Shahrzad is a pioneer in Persian dance and quite possibly the first to create a formalized dance vocabulary and structure for Persian dance, helping in the artistic development and dissemination of an art form that has been outlawed in Iran for the past three decades. Her system includes the introduction of fundamental Persian body positions and movement, categorization and designation of nomenclature to movements, assembly of movement into choreographed phrases, and composition of dance pieces woven intricately with Persian music. Her unique approach to creating Persian dance pieces has prompted Shahrzad to identify her dance style as Contemporary Persian Ballet.
Shahrzad Dance Academy (SDA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded by Shahrzad Khorsandi in 1996. The academy is a cultural training ground, using a structured curriculum of traditional Persian movement as a cultural foundation, while providing the space to artistically explore choreography in contemporary Persian dance. SDA is based in Richmond, California, and often hosts classes and workshops in classical & contemporary Persian dance for serious dancers and dance scholars taught by Shahrzad, as well as performances by Shahrzad Dance Company. SDA also produces Persian dance instructional and performance DVDs and teaches online. https://www.shahrzadance.com