2023 Nowruz Festival and Community Gathering Program
2023 Nowruz Festival and Community Gathering Program
HOME / 2023 NOWRUZ FESTIVAL AND COMMUNITY GATHERING PROGRAM
Parisa Naini
گریه کن
“Gerye Kon” / “Cry”
Music by: Homayoun Shajarian
Choreography & Performance by: Parisa Naini Translation by: BlueBird
This Sufi-inspired choreography pays respect to the immense pain and su ering of the Iranian people. The vocalist reminds us to honor our grief and “cry in the rain, even though the rain will not take away the pain.”
سفرنک
“Safarnāk” / “Traveler”
Music by: Dobare
Choreography by: Roshana Nofret
Performance by: Parisa Naini
Translation by: Behnaz Torabi, Ghazaleh Dadres
Choreographed in the contemporary Persian style, this piece explores the complicated notions of “home.” The dancer employs repetitive movements as the vocalist cyclically asks themselves: “How can I let go…?”
باهم یکی
“Bāham Yeki” / “Together as One”
Music by: Sogand
Choreography by: Parisa Naini, Shirzan Dance Collective
Performance by: Shirzan Dance Collective
Shirzan Dance Collective performs in the expressive style to show their solidarity with Iranian women. The video features footage from the protests in Iran alongside SDC’s performance activism at a rally for Iran in Minneapo lis, MN.
دوباره
“Dobareh” / “Again”
Music by: Googoosh, et. al
Choreography and Performance by: Behnaz Torabi
Translation by: Behnaz Torabi
Combining classical Persian technique with improvisation, the dancer tells her story of oppression and resilience as an Iranian woman who will stop at nothing for her basic rights. Both the dancer and vocalists unite with a clear message: “Iran will be Iran again!”
پنجره باز می شود
“Panjareh Bāz Mishavad” / “The Window Will Open” Music by: Sheyda and Masoud Jahed
Choreography by: Agnes Gagge
Adapted and performed by: Parisa Naini
Translation by: Sevda Akbari
This piece —choreographed in the classical Persian style— reminds us that hope is on the horizon. The dancer gracefully relays the message that “the good news is coming.”
نوروز خوش آمد
“Nowruz Khosh Āmad” / “Welcome Nowruz”
Music by: Mehdieh Mohammadkhani
Choreography by: Parisa Naini, Shirzan Dance Collective
Performance by: Shirzan Dance Collective
Finally, spring has arrived, and with it the hope of a new beginning. The dancers embody the blossoming violet flower who has recently emerged from the soil— a metaphor for Iranian women’s courage to rise from the darkness and into the light.