Dance Along The Silk Road W/ The Khorshid Khanoom Dance Group

The Kahrizak Foundation of Canada & Nawranji Iranian Association present DANCE ALONG THE SILK ROAD, a dance extravaganza featuring more than 30 dancers and traditions from regions along the ancient Silk Road including China, India and Azerbaijan.

StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-Oct 27, 2011 - 

Over 1700 years of traditional dancing have been re-introduced by the Iranian diaspora to teach others of the rich tradition that lies beneath. Among those involved in this work is The Khorshid Khanoom Dance Group who will be touring its production Dance Along the Silk Road to Toronto October 29th.

This Montreal-based company was founded by Aram Bayat in 1988 and has been working to teach, preserve and perform traditional Iranian and Persian folk dance – which was banned in its mother country's 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran – to a younger generation of enthusiasts. Ms. Bayat, a choreographer and teacher, is among those who resisted the censorship and rules of the regime and was forced into exile, to avoid imprisonment or execution. Bayat left Iran in 1986 and has since worked to conserve the dance culture and to address issues ranging from cultural identity to personal explorations of gender, sexuality and social political commentary through the medium of dance.