Work in progress · August 2026–May 2027
Current research in movement, avaz, breath, and musical form.
Embodied Iranian Music investigates how the structures of Iranian music can generate choreography from within. Avaz, tahrir, breath, pauses, nonmetric timing, rhythmic complexity, tension, and melodic phrasing become physical propositions.
The question is not how movement can decorate Iranian music, but how listening deeply can reorganize the moving body—and open contemporary Iranian dance to new forms.
The research begins with close listening. Breath, ornament, pause, melodic direction, and elastic time are translated not into fixed steps, but into choreographic choices.
This approach allows movement to emerge from musical intelligence rather than sit on top of it.
The project asks how Iranian dance can move beyond decorative, nostalgic, or externally imposed frames. It treats musical structure as a living resource for experimentation, authorship, and contemporary form.
Supported by the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship.
