Kismet قسمت - Dance Showcase

Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre

An exquisite showcase of two new dance works by SZDT that help us observe Spring equinox or Norouz as a celebration of renewal.

Arts Court Theatre

Kismet قسمت is a ritual transforming Fate to Destiny. What will you do with what is given to you? A thrumming auditory call reverberates among the quartet of dancers and singers whose breaths and bodies collaboratively create painterly images, spilling one into another. A river of dance and sound whose ebb and flow are as hypnotizing and collective as any body of water. A self-study through memory which investigates the idea that identity is not the product but rather the process of an ongoing constructive negotiation amongst the cultures, languages, and experiences ￼that we each carry with ourselves. It is a healing.

Special thanks to Ottawa Community Partners:<a href="https://pacso.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Persian Arts &amp; Cultural Society of Ottawa (PASCO)</a><a href="https://persianradio.net" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Ottawa Persian Radio</a>

Kismet قسمت is presented in Zarif’s contemporary interpretation of Mugham that blends dance, music, and storytelling, which are in turn, inspired and informed by the Sufi and Shamanic rituals of Islamic societies in particular Central and Western Asia. In it, words communicate the intellectual, music transmits the emotional, and dance conveys the physical. These influences on the work are deeply rooted in Sashar Zarif’s nomadic ancestry.Kismet: Ocean in a Drop, Zarif’s evolving group piece, examines the limits of freedom, wondering if, in walking our path, we are determining or accepting our fate. Surrendering to the call of stillness, can we claim serenity within the midst of our passing and possessing?￼Grandmother’s Drum is Zarif’s newest solo that explores the concept of ownership versus￼stewardship of home as it is practiced in nomadic culture.￼"I spent my early formative years by the side of my 94-year-old grandmother and her ever- present ￼hand drum, ‘the door to the spirit world’ as she called it. My grandmother taught me about life ￼through stories accompanied by dances and songs. These were rituals about the body and breath, ￼earth, and air. She would say ‘we are the story, and our job is not to tell our story: our mission in this ￼life is to be the story, my son.’ This solo is inspired by the responsibility I feel to bring our living stories together, merge them with the world we live in now, and share with others the transformations I have experienced." - Sashar Zarif

Please note all Arts Court COVID-19 vaccination policies including proof of vaccination and mask wearing is required to attend this event.

Other 2022 Kismet قسمت Tour Stops:Toronto: <a href="https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/programs/kismet-transforming-fate-to-destiny" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Aga Khan Museum - Mar 19 &amp; 20, 2022</a>Montreal: <a href="https://www.m-a-i.qc.ca/en/sashar-zarif/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">mai (montréal, arts interculturels) - Mar 30 to Apr 2, 2022</a>

￼Sashar Zarif is an internationally renowned performing artist, educator, and researcher. For the last three decades Zarif and his Dance Theatre have toured across forty countries, promoting cultural dialogue through intensive fieldwork, residencies, performances, and creative collaborations. His award-winning, multi-disciplinary dance projects are steeped in the artistry and history of traditional, ritualistic, and contemporary dance and music of the Central Asian, Middle Eastern and North African regions, focusing on the Sufi and Shamanic practices within the Islamic societies, and the diverse world we live in. Zarif’s artistic practice, Living Stories / Moving Memories explores the physical, mental and emotional aspects of memory. This practice is not only a rite of remembrance but it is an act of investigation/inquiry into self, environment and beyond in order to facilitate a genuine transformation. Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre's mandate is inspired by its commitment to bring awareness to our humanness.<a href="https://sashardance.weebly.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.sashardance.com</a>

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Kismet قسمت - Dance Showcase

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