2023 Nowruz Festival and Community Gathering Program

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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.