Banafsheh
The internationally-acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and teacher Banafsheh, communicates the universal messages of Mysticism in a passionate yet fluid, meditative way, an interplay between trance and directed movement. Her explosive movement is at once sensual and ritualistic, an organic trance of impeccable technique gone wild, yet holding a serene grounded core.Banafsheh's mesmerizing offering of the timeless Sacred Feminine inside a contemporary gypsy dervish beckons all to engage, impart, and exalt. The versatile, Iranian-born Banafsheh is one of the few bearers of authentic Persian dance form in the world, the pioneer of Contemporary Persian dance, the founder of Dance of Oneness® and NAMAH Dance Company, and an acupuncturist.
Known for her innovative movement vocabulary and high artistic and educational standards, Banafsheh draws from her extensive background in Persian dance, Sufi ritual, Tai Chi and Flamenco to present a new form, rooted in tradition yet universal, "fusing ancient forms with a postmodern punch" (LA Times). Her movement is comprised in part by the Persian alphabet she has translated into gestures and movement, which when put together, one dances out words and poetic stanzas, often taken from the works of Rumi, whom she has studied extensively.
Banafsheh’s form is what “for the first time one could call contemporary or modern Persian Dance– a dance with its own artistic language, neither Eastern like Arabic and Indian nor Western as in Flamenco, or Modern. The dance form created by (Banafsheh) Sayyad can only be called the (Banafsheh) dance, representative of Persian culture much like how Flamenco is particular to Spanish culture...” (prominent Iranian critic, Shokooh Mirzadegi).
Banafsheh holds an MFA in Dance from UCLA where she taught Persian dance. Banafsheh's solo work as well as ensemble pieces with her dance company NAMAH have been presented extensively in festivals and by presenters in North America, Europe and Australia where she has gained tremendous acclaim. Banafsheh has been invited to Tanzhaus in Dusseldorf, Germany for 1-2 weeklong residencies annually since 2005. She recently performed and taught Master classes as part of her weeklong residency in the Dance Masters Series at the prestigious Dance Center of Columbia College in Chicago.
The daughter of the legendary Iranian filmmaker, theater director and actor, Parviz Sayyad, Banafsheh is a recipient of the prestigious James Irvine Foundation grant in Dance. She has studied with some of the great masters in dance and choreography including Antonia Rojos, Victoria Marks, David Rousseve and Donna Uchizono.
Banafsheh teaches workshops in Dance of Oneness® across North America, Europe and Turkey including Esalen Institute in California and Kripalu Center in Upper Massachusetts, where she teaches with the well-known mystic and scholar, Andrew Harvey. Banafsheh also gives talks and lecture/demonstrations on Persian Dance and Sufism.
Banafsheh is available for solo performances with recorded or live music of 1 - 5 musicians. Her music partners are Tony Khalife, and ZARBANG. She is available for ensemble dance pieces of up to 5 dancers with or without live music. Special performances are also available with noted Rumi scholar, writer, and mystic Andrew Harvey.
“Part whirling dervish, part flamenco femme fatale, sensuous and audacious, Banafsheh’s dance is a mesmerizing foray into the body as trance mechanism; a DNA strand, supple, fluid and noble, come to life.”
Los Angeles Times
“Banafsheh’s body moved in trance, exuding a supernatural power as the vortex which seemed to take the submitting body higher and higher became really perceptible. At the end in a spectacular finale she improvised on a flamenco-rhythm, and dance movements from the Middle East merged together with Iberian gestures.”
Badische Zeitung, Germany