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Masterclass with Persian Dance Artist, Banafsheh Sayyad

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Monday, March 25, 2013
6:15 pm - 7:45 pm
Backstage

Masterclass with Persian Dance Artist, Banafsheh Sayyad, Monday, March 25, 6:15-7:45PM, the Ark Dance Studio. Open to all Duke and UNC dance students.Banafsheh is a dance artist and transformational teacher. She is one of the few bearers of authentic Persian dance in the world, an innovator of Sufi dance previously only performed by men and a pioneer in contemporary Persian dance, all of which characterize the form she has created called Dance of Oneness(r). She draws from her extensive background in Sufism, Persian dance and ritual, Tai Chi and Flamenco to present a new form, rooted in tradition yet universal, "fusing ancient forms with a postmodern punch" (Los Angeles 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, mostly taken from the works of the great mystic poet, Rumi, whom she has studied extensively. Banafsheh holds an MFA in dance from UCLA. Co-sponsored by Graduate Students Association of Iranians at Duke, the Duke University Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts, and the Duke Dance Program.