Celebrate the Persian New Year, Nowruz, with Persian dance workshops, activities, food and community.

We shall be welcoming Melanie Khanum, a professional dancer from Melbourne. With Armenian parents hailing from Istanbul, traditional music and dances have been part of Melanie's life since birth. Conscious of the revolutionary struggle currently taking place in Iran, Melanie is committed to educating the Australian community about the dance arts that have been suppressed under the Islamic Regime. In giving these Classical Persian dance workshops, Melanie wishes to demonstrate to the Australian community just one of the many freedoms for which the Iranian people are struggling for and mark the Nowruz festival as a time of hope and renewal.

Follow Melanie on Instagram @thedancermelanie to learn more about her story.

Dance workshops will be held on Saturday 18th March and Sunday 19th March. Saturday 18th March will also play host to a community event where guests may try their hand at activities and crafts to celebrate Nowruz, join in a shared meal, learn about the Haft Seen table and meet and hear more from Melanie. There will also be some beautiful dance displays from members of our own dance community.

Saturday, 18 March: 1.30-3pm

Classical Persian Dance Workshop - Choreography to "Nowruz" by Sima Bina. Partly a lover's lament, partly a welcoming of Spring, the choreography to this song is light and feminine, with staple Persian dance gestures and movements suitable for beginners.

Saturday, 18 March: 4.30-8pm

Nowruz activities, shared meal and community.

Sunday, 19 March: 11am-12.30pm

Neo-classical Persian Dance Workshop - Choreography to "Zade Baroon" by Masoud Sadeghloo. We will apply Classical Persian dance principles in a choreography to this hugely popular, modern love song. Suitable for beginners.

Sunday 19 March: 2-3.30pm

Classical Persian Dance Workshop - Choreography to "Nowruz" by Arash Avesta. Faster-paced and earthier than Sima Bina's song, this choreography will incorporate quicker and more rhythmic movements. Best suited to those with some dance experience.

$25 per person for each event, or $85 for the full weekend. *Zoom available on request

This will be the final event held in our Hamley Street studio, fitting as Nowruz is a time for new beginnings!

For more information contact Belly Dance Amethyst on 0406103295, or bellydanceamethyst2017@gmail.com