Performances
Banafsheh Sayyad, NAMAH and ZARBANG have
performed extensively in North America, Europe
and Australia. The artists can be presented in
the following configurations:
- Banafsheh's solo dance with recorded music
- Banafsheh’s solo dance with 2-4 musicians
and 1 orator
- 3 NAMAH dancers with 2-4 musicians
and 1 orator
- 5 dancers with 4 musicians
The following is a description of one of the recent configurations:
Turn For Love
Over the summers of 2006 and 2007, Banafsheh Sayyad participated in historic rituals of Sema (Whirling
Ceremony) in Turkey which lasted 24 hours/day
for 40 days and nights. This rare ritual was conducted for the first time
since it was practiced
by the Persian mystic poet Rumi more
than 700 years ago. Banafsheh, and indeed all fellow
dervishes in this phenomenal ritual, were deeply
affected, instructed by the mystery awaiting
each. Banafsheh has begun to interpret her
messages in the new line of work called
Turn For Love,
both in performance and classes.
Turn For Love was first
presented by the College of Arts and Humanities
at Fresno State University in honor of Rumi's birthday, followed by the Orientale
Festival at the prestigious Tanzhaus in
Dusseldorf, Germany. In addition to high artistic values, Turn For Love has a strong educational component which makes it very suitable for both academic and non-academic settings. The program features two musicians on traditional Iranian instruments, percussion and strings. An orator joins Banafsheh and two dancers from NAMAH in reciting the poetry of Rumi in Persian and English. In Fresno, a positively charged question and answer session followed the program.
The highlight to very receptive audiences was the two dance pieces set to live music in which the orator read a description of the Sema written by Banafsheh in English, interlaced with the poetry of Rumi. The evening opened with one of these pieces featuring a solo dancer demonstrating the movements of the Sema as described by the words while the musicians played softly. Towards the closing of the concert, the trio of dancers demonstrated the Sema set to the words, but took it further with ecstatic drumming.
The primary focus of Banafsheh's work is communicating
total aliveness, tolerance and love. The
use of spoken word in addition to dance and
music delivers a solid impact,
whereby the public is given a new perspective on
these themes.
In Banafsheh's view, Rumi wrote from essence and
personified the total human experience in all of
its peak manifestations - reverence and
godliness, love and scathing honesty,
fearlessness and joy as well as sensuality. Banfsheh's work captures the essence of Rumi by
resonating ALL of these themes. The traditional
- and only - dervish whirling performance yet
offered, is one of reserved reverence and
meditation. This may be valid, even expected,
but tells one tale only out of the vast human
storybook.
Here is what an audience member wrote the organizers about the program:
"All of us in attendance at Fresno State University's presentation of an Encounter with Rumi were thoroughly enthralled by the phenomenally artistic Persian dance and exciting improvisational choreography performed by the dancers of NAMAH, the beautiful Persian poetry recited on stage and the fabulous virtuosity of the wonderful musicians and their unique selection of music and complex rhythms. The well-presented reflection concerning Sufi practices as well as Rumi and his poetry were very enlightening for all of us."
John Chookasian, Director of The Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble
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Classes / Workshops
Banafsheh has been teaching
at universities, colleges and private studios
around North America, Europe and Turkey since the year
2000.
In all classes, she uses her original
warm-up and body toning routine based in yoga,
tai chi and qi gong that promote the classical
motto: A sound mind in a sound body
To set up workshops or courses with Banafsheh in
your city or to schedule private instruction,
contact (310) 499-7100 or
info@banafshehsayyad.com
Courses Taught by Banafsheh Sayyad
DANCE OF ONENESS:
Banafsheh’s
Dance of Oneness
workshops are rigorous and disciplined, active
ground for healing and self-discovery. Students
learn technique but also the inner dimensions of
Movement - releasing oneself to feel free and
exuberant, and the integrity to proceed without
fear. Persian, Flamenco, Yoga, Tai Chi, Tribal,
Sufi- a fusion of influences defines
Dance of Oneness
as a way to unify oneself, commune with others
and the greater Existence, through dance and
movement. It is the learning by steps, but
growing by leaps.
Dance of Oneness
workshops
are designed to develop the intuitive technique
to be grounded yet light, delicate yet strong,
empty yet utterly present, navigating between
felt presence and the unknown, calling the
divine Light to a fluid, responsive body. The
focus is on inviting the unobstructed flow of
Light/Chi to temper our being, through a
dialogue with Grace, through sensing our
Chakras, and through the discipline necessary to
develop correct alignment and a fluid spine,
graceful arms and hands, expressive feet and
legs, to achieve whole body free-flowing
undulations, lithe and free in our wholeness, a
Dancer of Oneness.
- Contemporary Mystical Persian Dance
- The Mystical in Dance and Mystical
Choreography
- Ecstatic Ritual
- TrancenDance and Drum Ritual
-
Fluidity and Strength: Persian Dance
& Flamenco
-
Self-integration and Stress Relief
-
Classical Persian Dance
- Choreography
-
Creative Dance for children (ages:
3-5)
-
Classical, Contemporary and Folk
Persian Dance (ages: 5-13)
Class Descriptions:
Contemporary Mystical Persian Dance
Guided by Sufi ritual
where movement becomes worship and a way of
finding inner direction from Source, this
workshop weaves together the ethereal beauty of
Persian dance with the physically charged yet
quietly intuitive power of Banafsheh’s active
expression of the form. Students learn short
dance sequences that are at once meditative and
exuberant.
Body Prayers:
Phase 1: The
Mystical in Dance
This unique journey takes
students through the seven primary elements that
constitute the mystical in dance. Drawing
primarily from contemporary Persian dance,
Flamenco and
Sufi ritual, students explore the
elements which correspond to each Chakra: Grounding, Alignment,
Circles, Waves, Shaking, Reverential Bowing and
Spirals.
Phase 2: Mystical
Choreography
Students
learn to combine
elements to create a complete dance piece. They
will also learn a piece of choreography in
this style and learn how to directly access the
unending source within to improvise and
choreograph using the elements.
Ecstatic
Ritual
This workshop
demystifies turning, offering access to
Sufi whirling meditation in a few simple steps.
This method allows people of all experience
levels to turn for a sustained period with ease.
Thus one enters into Sema, or pure
listening, and is led into movement. An age-old
practice employed by the legendary Sufi masters
Rumi and Shams, Sema dissolves our sense of
separateness, where one turns to become
nothing and everything. Class includes mystical poetry and
philosophy of Rumi, and thorough descriptions in
the practical beauty of Sufism- reverential
bowing, the release of energy blockages, and the
upward flow of Chi through the spine.
TrancenDance & Drum Ritual
The Turning & Sufi
Ritual accompanied by a 2½ hour live percussion
session. Meditative and ecstatic, Sufi and
ancient Persian rhythms deliver a primal dynamic
to the rituals, ending in an extended sema. This
popular gathering is often the follow-up to a
performance by Banafsheh or a complement to
another workshop.
Fluidity and Strength: Persian Dance & Flamenco
Guided by Sufi ritual, this workshop begins with
a thorough warm up in Yoga and Tai Chi. It
weaves together the sensual and ethereal beauty
of Persian dance with the fiery, passionate
power of Flamenco, uncovering the common ground
between these traditions.
Students will learn
the power of “less is more”, creating a sense of
drama with the bare, subtle minimum as well as
exploring movement that challenges their limits.
This highly energetic workshop is technique
based yet internal.
Self-Integration and Stress Relief
Learn Banafsheh’s
simple yet effective movement based in yoga, Tai
Chi, and devotional dance, also techniques for
grounding, for being in the present moment, and
to become more in touch with the body.
Participants will learn the Chakras and the
Chinese Meridian theory of the body’s energy
pathways, as well as selective acupuncture
points for the self-management of stress and to
achieve ongoing vitality. This movement/exercise
program decreases stress hormones like cortisol
and increases the feel-good endorphins, giving
one’s mood a natural boost which increases
energy and productivity. The program focuses the
mind not on the busy life but on the present
moment, as participants are led through quiet,
precise movements that emphasize balance,
elasticity and concentration.
Guided by the ancient motto “A sound mind in a
sound body”, participants will receive
stretching and strengthening exercises,
breathing exercises, a fitness program,
meditation and guided visualization all in one
workshop.
This
workshop has optimum effect when presented over
a weekend period every 2 months.
Classical Persian Dance
A
solo dance in its origin, the dance of early
Persia was primarily performed in royal court,
and inspired by architecture, calligraphy, and
art. The dance form developed as a direct
transparent response to traditional Persian
music, and is characterized by fluidity and
continuous movement, with emphasis on the
expression of the spine, arms, and hands. This
workshop teaches the graceful and ethereal
beauty of classical Persian dance, which of late
has been prohibited for women to perform before
the general public in Iran.
Choreography
Choreography literally means ‘drawing in space’.
Learn the tools and techniques of choreography
with
considerations to space, time, structure, music,
narrative, and movement. Banafsheh has
choreographed many performances in Classical and
Contemporary Persian, Flamenco, and open
formats, earning wide recognition and
international acclaim for her work.
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