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This DVD is intended for the intermediate/advanced dancer. Founded upon an ancient culture, this contemporary style weaves Persian lines and images with complex and innovative movement patterns into culturally potent music, making the body and the music together as one. This DVD begins with a warm-up and includes a set of arm/hand/foot exercises specific to this Persian style of dance. A movement phrase is broken down into steps; these steps are reviewed, put together with transitions, and then given counts. At the end the viewer can practice the entire movement phrase with music over and over. This DVD is 40 minutes long.

This DVD is an introduction to the Persian style of dancing, with emphasis on posture, position and movement of the arms and hands, and rhythmic foot patterns. It is a 30-minute condensed DVD consisting of 10 different steps, broken down into sections that can be rewound and practiced repeatedly.Those steps are then put into a choreographed sequence with counts. The DVD ends with a staged performance of the choreography by 3 SDA Company members in costume.

Intended for the intermediate dancer, this DVD introduces new, more complex movements in the Persian style. The DVD begins with a warm-up and includes a set of arm/hand/foot exercises specific to the Persian style of dance. It is 60 minutes, and ends in a staged performance with two dancers, performing a longer variation of the routine demonstrated earlier in the DVD.

Intended for the intermediate/advanced dancer, this DVD introduces a unique style, combining rhythmic foot patterns with fluid movement transitions, while emphasizing movement of arms, hands and wrists, and coordination of arms and legs, while harmonizing foot patterns with Persian music. The smooth and circular transitions, and line and positioning of the body reflect aesthetics of ancient Persia, while the choreography and technique are contemporary.

Persia, bordering Central Asia and the Middle East, is the home of Classical Persian Dance. This dance style is a fluid yet rhythmic dance form, which emphasizes the use of hands and wrists. The movement and positioning of the body reflect the rich and refined aesthetics of Persian. The focus of this course is on the shape of the hands, movement of the wrists and feet, isolation and coordination of arms and legs, and capturing the Persian aesthetics in the body line. This DVD is comprised of dances from live concerts performed by Shahrzad Dance Company (SDC) in California, USA. Shahrzad Khorsandi, artistic director of SDC, choreographs dances which range from classical Persian to fusion and Modern dance. These dances may be categorized as classical & contemporary Persian dance.

A compilation of dances from live concerts performed by Shahrzad Dance Company (SDC) in California, USA. Shahrzad Khorsandi, artistic director of SDC, choreographs dances which range from classical Persian to fusion and Modern dance. Shahrzad’s unique style of Contemporary Persian Ballet captures & combines the unleashed expression of contemporary dance with the refined, poetically potent aesthetics of ancient Persia, resulting in choreography that is both conceptual and organically expressive. This DVD is comprised of dances that are both contemporary Persian and fusion of Persian and Modern dance/Ballet.

(Live concert: January 2003 Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco)

“The Forbidden Art” is a title intentionally picked by SDA to bring awareness to the fact that dancing by women is forbidden in Iran today. It has been that way since the revolution of 1979. Although it is not SDA’s intention to make any political statement, it IS our goal to present dance as a beautiful and intellectual art form that can be enjoyed by all. In addition to the recent political restrictions, historically speaking, Persian dance has not been perceived as a legitimate art form.

(Live concert: August 2003 ODC Theater, San Francisco)

This concert draws on a combination of movement styles, blending the mesmerizing fluidity of classical Persian dance with the conceptual complexity and dynamic quality of contemporary western dance. The program is in two sections. Program I, “Universal Elements”, presents the beauty in the dynamics of natural elements, such as fire and rain. It also plays on the fine line between fantasy and reality. Program II, “The Journey”, explores natural tendencies in emotional and psychological paths in human relationships.