415-863-6606
ODC's biannual showcase Dance and Diaspora returns with Persian dance artists Farima Berenji and Shahrzad Khorsandi. After the success of last year's Layla Means Night, which featured both dancers in a choose-your-own-adventure production of the story of Scheherazade, sinuous and emotional Persian dance takes center stage in this shared evening of work. Berenji, who is also a scholar, ethnologist, and archaeologist hailing from Iran, premieres two solos, The Persian Garden, inspired by Persian miniature art, and Dance of the Soul, which explores the mystical Sufi movement. Persian musicians Samandar Dehghani and Saman Mahmoudi will accompany Berenji live. Bay Area native Khorsandi combines traditional Persian dance with contemporary dance in her 2009 piece Transcendence, which features the live performance of Mahmoud Zoufonon's original score and the poetry of Omar Khayyam.
415-863-6606
