Banafsheh
www.namah.net

Internationally-acclaimed sacred dancer and choreographer, Banafsheh has blazed a unique trail in contemporary dance "fusing ancient forms with a postmodern punch" (LA Times)." Born in Iran, her electrifying and wholly original dance style embodies the sensuous ecstasy of Persian Dance with the austere rigor of Dervish whirling ? and includes elements of Flamenco, Tai Chi, and Gurdjieff Movements. Banafsheh is internationally recognized for her fusion of high-level dance technique with spirituality. Rumi lives through Banafsheh! She performs with the option of live by top Sufi musicians of Persian/World music ensembles.

Known for her innovative movement vocabulary, Banafsheh comes from a long lineage of pioneering performing artists. Her father, the legendary Iranian filmmaker, theater director and actor, Parviz Sayyad, hailed as the Charlie Chaplin of Iran, is the most famous Iranian of his time. Banafsheh is one of the few bearers of the authentic Persian dance form in the world, an innovator of Sufi dance previously only performed by men and a pioneer in a fusion style she has created called Dance of Oneness�. 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 nor Western. 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 the Spanish culture...? (prominent Iranian critic, Shokooh Mirzadegi).

A recipient of the Irvine Foundation Grant in Choreography, Banafsheh holds an MFA in Dance from UCLA where she taught Persian dance. Her solo work as well as ensemble performances with her dance company NAMAH have toured extensively in festivals throughout North America, Europe and Australia where she has gained tremendous acclaim. She recently presented the closing night concert at the Festival of Sacred Arts at Teatros Canal in Madrid, and performed and taught Master classes in her residency in the Dance Masters Series at the Dance Center of Columbia College in Chicago. Banafsheh holds annual sacred dance workshops in her second home base of Turkey and tours the world with her performances and teaching residencies.

Banafsheh performs solo dances with recorded or live music with up to 4 musicians from the highly acclaimed Persian/World music ensemble, ZARBANG www.zarbang.com.

?As an embodied mystic of the divine feminine, Banafsheh?s presentations are not performances but transmissions which transform your vision of dance forever. Dancer and dance become one initiatory flame of grace? - 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

?A group of performers who challenge stereotypes about Iranian identity, ZARBANG and Banafsheh?s work is entertaining and revolutionary, both.? - Vancouver Sun

?Banafsheh?s trance dance was mind-blowing. She whirled as if possessed.?
- Los Angeles Times

?The fascinating dance and sounds of Persia, the modern-day Iran, transformed the concert hall to a landscape for the senses. The dancer and choreographer, Banafsheh translated the musical intensity and intricate nuances of ZARBANG with the language of the body. Her fluid movements in constant dynamism, at time floating, then whirling at high speed, opened our sights to new dimensions. With complete mastery of her body, she exuded power down to the tips of her fingers.? - Badische Zeitung, Germany

Touring Programs

Banafsheh performs in a wide variety of venues ranging from proscenium theaters to alternative spaces such as churches, temples and outdoor stages. She performs solo work with the option of 2 - 4 musicians and an orator.

Into the Vast
- solo program with live Sufi music- Rumi focus
Banafsheh and ZARBANG?s exuberant evening-length work explores the theme of surrendering oneself to the inner being seated in the temple of the Heart. Contemporary Persian music and dance merge with Flamenco and Sufi ritual in this concert of passionate improvisation. The recitation of Rumi in English interspersed with the original Persian nuance the evening. This program is with 4 musicians and can be presented with or without an orator.

En/trance
- solo program live music option ? Whirling Dervish focus
In this full-evening program, Banafsheh explores the theme of trance as entering into union with the Divine. Based on the ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes, she interprets the 4 stages of the ceremony through dance and spoken word. This program can be presented with recorded music or with 2 - 4 musicians.

ESHQ ? Love?s Wild Fire
- a collaborative evening with poet Andrew Harvey
Banafsheh offers a dance and live poetry evening with scholar and mystic Andrew Harvey. This full-evening program can be presented with recorded music or with 2 - 4 musicians. The essence of the Sufi path of love and of Rumi?s vision is ?Eshq,? the Persian word for ?love?? the wild passion of love that burns in every cell for the Beloved Creator. Banafsheh and Andrew take the audience on a holy and explosive journey into Eshq through a marriage of Banafsheh?s ecstatic dance with Rumi?s most poignant texts and Andrew?s inspired teachings.

Outreach

CLASSES
Workshops (3 hrs)
Master Classes (1.5 - 2 hrs)
Extended Residencies (1 - 2 wks)

A transformational teacher, dance artist, mystic and healer, Banafsheh?s workshops are ?life changing?. Her pioneering program Dance of Oneness� is designed to support our living at our fullest potential through loving our body, our Self, and living as a Messenger of Love. Dance of Oneness� is a new form drawn from a synthesis of Sufi teachings and trance dance, Tai Chi, Persian Dance, Flamenco and Middle Eastern tribal dances. Sufi teachings and the poetry of Rumi, Gurdjieff Work, the Chakra system and Chinese Healing Arts are the theoretical groundwork. Dance of Oneness� can be tailored for dancers as well as non-dancers. Banafsheh has taught Dance of Oneness� across North America, Europe, Turkey and Australia.

Topics for Workshops and Master Classes include:
?    Introduction to Dance of Oneness Dance of the Chakras (all levels)
?    Sufi Dance (all levels)
?    The Mystical in Dance: Technique & Choreography (Beg. & Intermediate/ Advanced)
?    Contemporary Mystical Persian Dance (Beg. & Intermediate/Advanced)
?    Rumi and the Way of Ecstasy with Andrew Harvey

LECTURE / DEMONSTRATIONS
Banafsheh and musicians engage in lecture demonstrations in a variety of settings. Topics include Rumi, Sufism, Sufi Dance & Music, Persian Dance and Women in the Middle East

For details on upcoming Performances and Workshops, please visit www.namah.net