THE ANAHID SOFIAN DANCE COMPANY Celebrates 35th Anniversary with Gala, 6/28
Broadway World
June 24 2014
Over 25 fabulous dancers and musicians will join Anahid Sofian Dance
Company in a rousing retrospective of signature works from the Near
and Middle East in celebration of the Company's 35th Anniversary. The
program will present both traditional dances and those inspired
by cultures of Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Persia, Armenia, Greece and
Uzbekistan, as well as numerous renditions of Danse Orientale. The
program is a dazzling blend of different styles, both old and new,
traditional and theatrical. Two performances, June 28 & 29 at MMAC,
246 West 60th Street, NYC.
Special guests include:
Nourhan Sharif, internationally recognized as a premier performer
of the Egyptian Raqs Sharki, known in the West as belly-dancing. The
artist and her company will present both historical and contemporary
renditions of the form.
The Sera Solstice Ensemble, an innovative Tribal Fusion bellydance
troupe based on the East Coast, combining influences from modern dance,
hip-hop, and martial arts.
Carlos Fittante and Robin Gilbert of the BALAM Dance Theatre will
recreate a Sofian dance called "Ma'Na," created to "A Prayer for the
Soul of Layla" by Jamshied Sharifi, with vocals by Mamak Khadem.
Live music will be provided by the Souren Baronian Musical Ensemble,
on clarinet, kaval, oud, kanoon, violin, and percussion instruments.
The Company will showcase 14 numbers, including a powerful tribal
dance from Morocco, a women's dance from Armenia that reflects grace
and lyrical bautiful, a contemporary dance inspired by an old Greek
song sung by irini Pappas, and a dreamlike interpretation of "Gazli,"
written and sung by the young Uzbeki star Sevara Nazarkhan.
Anahid Sofian will perform "Garden of the Beloved," music from the
album Mehraab by Loga Ramin Torkian;, vocals by Khosro Ansari, and
slide show by Stacey Lespinasse. The solo is inspired by the writing
that states: "Love is like the smell of a flower, something that you
cannot touch...and like the bird in love with the flower, flying and
always seeking its fragrance in the garden; we search for this eternal
love in this terrestrial world or in the work of heaven." The work was
premiered at the New York Theatrical Belly Dance Conference in 2013.
The Anahid Sofian Dance Company, founded 35 years ago and headquartered
in New York City, has appeared in many venues in town and around
the country, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall,
Cleveland Museum of Art, the Lincoln Center Library, and many more.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/THE-ANAHID-SOFIAN-DANCE-COMPANY-Celebrates-35th-Anniversary-with-Gala-628-20140624#.U6osND9OXIU
Broadway World
June 24 2014
Over 25 fabulous dancers and musicians will join Anahid Sofian Dance
Company in a rousing retrospective of signature works from the Near
and Middle East in celebration of the Company's 35th Anniversary. The
program will present both traditional dances and those inspired
by cultures of Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Persia, Armenia, Greece and
Uzbekistan, as well as numerous renditions of Danse Orientale. The
program is a dazzling blend of different styles, both old and new,
traditional and theatrical. Two performances, June 28 & 29 at MMAC,
246 West 60th Street, NYC.
Special guests include:
Nourhan Sharif, internationally recognized as a premier performer
of the Egyptian Raqs Sharki, known in the West as belly-dancing. The
artist and her company will present both historical and contemporary
renditions of the form.
The Sera Solstice Ensemble, an innovative Tribal Fusion bellydance
troupe based on the East Coast, combining influences from modern dance,
hip-hop, and martial arts.
Carlos Fittante and Robin Gilbert of the BALAM Dance Theatre will
recreate a Sofian dance called "Ma'Na," created to "A Prayer for the
Soul of Layla" by Jamshied Sharifi, with vocals by Mamak Khadem.
Live music will be provided by the Souren Baronian Musical Ensemble,
on clarinet, kaval, oud, kanoon, violin, and percussion instruments.
The Company will showcase 14 numbers, including a powerful tribal
dance from Morocco, a women's dance from Armenia that reflects grace
and lyrical bautiful, a contemporary dance inspired by an old Greek
song sung by irini Pappas, and a dreamlike interpretation of "Gazli,"
written and sung by the young Uzbeki star Sevara Nazarkhan.
Anahid Sofian will perform "Garden of the Beloved," music from the
album Mehraab by Loga Ramin Torkian;, vocals by Khosro Ansari, and
slide show by Stacey Lespinasse. The solo is inspired by the writing
that states: "Love is like the smell of a flower, something that you
cannot touch...and like the bird in love with the flower, flying and
always seeking its fragrance in the garden; we search for this eternal
love in this terrestrial world or in the work of heaven." The work was
premiered at the New York Theatrical Belly Dance Conference in 2013.
The Anahid Sofian Dance Company, founded 35 years ago and headquartered
in New York City, has appeared in many venues in town and around
the country, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall,
Cleveland Museum of Art, the Lincoln Center Library, and many more.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/THE-ANAHID-SOFIAN-DANCE-COMPANY-Celebrates-35th-Anniversary-with-Gala-628-20140624#.U6osND9OXIU