Youth in Arts Dance Residency

Iran in Four Directions through Persian Dance

The country of Iran holds many ethnic groups, each with their own language, customs, music and dance. In this course we will show the diversity in Iran by exploring dances from four different peoples: Gilaki from the North, Bandari from the South, Balouchi from the East, and Luri from the West. Students will learn about how diverse different countries are, and that we cannot make the assumption that all people living within a country practice the same culture.

 Ideal for grades 1-4.


Addresses national arts standards for dance, social studies, and social emotional learning competencies.
You will need: Your own body and voice. 
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Patrick Jones - Course author

Shahrzad Khorsandi

Persian Dance and Creative movement
Shahrzad is a pioneer in Persian (Iranian) dance and travels internationally to train dancers in this beautiful art form. Shahrzad is the choreographer and artistic director of Shahrzad Dance Academy, a non-profit organization in Richmond, CA, and Shahrzad Dance Company, a performing ensemble based in Berkeley, CA. She is the author of the book, The Art of Persian Dance, and collaborates with an international research team to study the effects of dance on the brain. She is currently co-writing a book with Dr. Christensen of Max Planck Institute in Germany, titled Neuroscience Dance Duets which is being published by Oxford University Press. Shahrzad is honored to have been a teaching artist with Youth in Arts for over a decade.