Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre to Present MOVING MEMORIES, May 8-9

Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre presents "Moving Memories - Creating Living Steps Out of Ancient Traces" - an intimate dance experience exploring mystical Sufi and Shamanic traditions of Western and Central Asia through a contemporary lens on May 8th and 9th, 2015 at 8 p.m.

Choreographed by Sashar Zarif and performed by him and Louis Laberge-Côté, the two new dance solos investigate and unlock the dual spirit of awakening and light through the revisiting of memories.

Alongside a documentary dance film on Sashar Zarif's field work in Azerbaijan, there will be a short presentation by guest speaker Professor Elizabeth Langley reflecting on his artistic process and practices.

Entering his third decade, the "Moving Memories" project extends the work of Zarif. Started in June 2014, this three-year project is an opportunity for the Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre to re-visit its past and to understand and connect to its present. It will create a healthy and informed platform on which to create and present work for the next decades. This event showcases twenty years of research, education and creation.

Integrating choreography, dance and story telling, Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre's artistic practice is a nomadic exploration of the old and the new. It mines the living histories and new expressions focusing on contemporary exploration and the very embodiment of ancient mystical dance traditions. This has been accomplished by Zarif's extensive ethnographic research into the art practices of the deeply inter-related dances of Western and Central Asia, the Sufi and Shamanic roots of Islamic societies, and the diverse world in which we live.

Working within his research, there have been a series of cross-disciplinary, culturally creative and educationally collaborative projects. This practice is called Dance of Mugham. Sashar Zarif, with his long and devoted practice and his far-reaching research, is a well-informed artist and an integrator who creates living steps out of ancient traces as his own quest for identity unfolds.

"Moving Memories, Creating Living Steps Out of Ancient Traces" represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to self-discovery in an innovative investigation of memory on a contemporary platform. This unique and thrilling dance concert is not to be missed.

Sashar Zarif is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator whose acclaimed artistic practice examines life through dance. His merging of creative and cultural perspectives, in over twenty eight countries across four continents, has earned him global notoriety. He seeks to break down barriers through greater cross-cultural understanding. He has toured across the Americas, Europe, North Africa, Central and Western Asia and the Middle East. Zarif is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for his work and collaborations with artists, universities and arts institutions. The recent awards include a Chalmers Fellowship, New Pioneers Award and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

DETAILS:

"Moving Memories, Creating Living Steps Out of Ancient Trace"
May 8 & 9, 2015 at 8pm.
Small World Music Centre, 180 Shaw Street, Studio 101, Toronto.
Limited Seating Available.
Regular $20, CADA $15.
Tickets available at the door or online at www.sashardance.com.
For more information, email contact@sashardance.com or call 416-450-4529.

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