This is not a dance

How to dance when dancing is banned?

In Iran, dancing has been officially prohibited since the start of the Islamitic Revolution. All dance companies have been forced to cease their activities. Many dancers and choreographers have fled abroad. Those who still live there have to be very resourceful. How are they keeping their art form alive? Theatre maker Nastaran Razawi Khorasani presents This is not a dance, a dance performance that deals with censorship. What can be shown, what must remain hidden? As the music and lights build towards a frenzy, Nastaran attempts to keep her dancing body in check.

In This is not a dance, Nastaran brings the voices of choreographers and dancers living in Iran to the stage. How are they dealing with the ban on dance? How do they practice their profession, what dangers do they face, what freedoms are they fighting for? This is not a dance is a tribute to the body that wants to move. A tribute to art that simply must be made, in whatever way, shape or form.

This show is spoken in Farsi. There are Dutch, English and Farsi surtitles.