Classes in Persian/Iranian Dance

Dances of the Persian World - Classes with Heather Rastovac.

8-session series offered through University of Washington's Experimental College! Spring quarter begins Monday, April 6th.

Open to the public and to all levels of experience.

Take advantage of studying Persian dance with Heather before she moves from Seattle this summer in order to begin a five-year PhD program in California!

Learn graceful dances reminiscent to Persian miniature paintings! These classes will introduce the dance traditions of the Persian world - 'classical' Persian dance, regional dances from Iran, Persian social dance, and folk dances from Tajikistan. Each 8 session series will introduce a Persian peom with metaphors that we will explore through movements in Persian dance. Instructor will also provide weekly hand outs on history, costuming, dance movements, etc. An educational CD with a variety of Persian and Tajik music will also be included with the class fee.

TIME: Mondays, 6:00 - 7:30 PM

April 6 - June 1, 2009 (8 sessions, a total of 12 class time hours)

(No class on May 25th)

LOCATION: University District, Seattle

COST: $100 - General Public

$85 - UW student

TO REGISTER:

Course # 15.82

www.exco.org

(206) 68- LEARN

Registration fees apply:

$5 for UW students

$10 for general public

Class fee to be paid to instructor on the first night of class - cash or check only.

 

Instructor Bio:

Heather Rastovac has been performing among Persian communities for several years, recently received her Bachelor's Degree in 2008 from the University of Washington majoring in Persian language and literature with minors in Dance and Anthropology, conducted dance research in Tajikistan during summer 2007, and currently co-directs the Delshodeh Persian and Central Asian Dance Ensemble. http://www.delshodeh.org

As an instructor, Heather emphasizes connection of personal expression with the unique essence of each dance form, as well as strong dance technique. Her deep respect for Middle Eastern cultures integrated with her emotional connection to the dances make Heather Rastovac an exquisite performer.

Contact Info:

heather.rastovac@gmail.com

206-334-9988

Heather Rastovac ~ Dances of the Persian World & Near East~ Performer and Instructor

Above photo: Persian/Tajik dances, 

Seattle TurkFest 10/2007.

Photography by Julia Bruk.

Above photo: Persian dance, Seattle Art Museum, January 2007.

Above photo: Persian tea glass dance,

Seattle TurkFest 2005.

(Above and below photography by Byron Dazey.)

Below photo: Kurdish folk dance,

with Adrian Laine of Banat Sahar music and dance troupe.

Seattle TurkFest 2005.

Below photo: Shiekhatt (Moroccan folkdance)

with Banat Sahar music and dance troupe.

Seattle Arab Festival 2005.

Photography by Dina Lydia.

Below photo: Raqs Khaleeji

(folkdance of the Saudi Arabian peninsula)

Seattle Arab Festival 2005.

Below photo: Raqs Shaabi

(Tunisian folkdance)

with Banat Sahar Middle Eastern music and dance troupe.

Seattle Arab Festival 2005.

Below photo: Reng-e Guilaki

(folkdance of Northern Iran)

with Shourangeez Persian music and dance ensemble.

NW Folklife Festival 2002.

Heather Rastovac

has been studying, performing and teaching various forms of Persian/Iranian and Near Eastern dance since 1997. As a soloist and an artistic director of Delshodeh dance ensemble, Heather performs the regional and classical dance forms of

Iran, Tajikistan, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan.

Delshodeh Persian and Central Asian Dance Ensemble is Heather Rastovac and Sonja Hinz's newest artistic endeavor (www.delshodeh.org, www.sonjahinz.com). Both Heather and Sonja participate in Delshodeh as artistic directors, dancers, choreographers, researchers and lecturers. Both dancers were also members of Shourangeez Persian music and dance ensemble from 2001 - 2004 and participated in the Folklife in the Schools program across Western Washington. Heather has also performed dances of the Arab World (North Africa, the Levant, the Gulf) with Banat Sahar Middle Eastern Music and Dance Ensemble, as well as dances from Bosnia/Herzagovina with Sevdah Dance Ensemble. Heather considers herself a perpetual dance student and continues to study ballet, modern, and various world dance forms.

Heather's primary focus with dance is to contribute to cultural education through artistic expression.

She engages in extensive studies of Near Eastern cultures, languages, arts, music, poetry, religion and women's issues. In June 2008, she received her Bachelor's degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (focusing on Persian language) with minors in Dance and Anthropology from the University of Washington. In August 2009, she will begin a PhD program in UC Berkeley's department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies (http://ls.berkeley.edu/dept/theater/AboutUs/index-about.html). Heather has traveled extensively and has visited Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, India and several countries in the Mediterranean for dance, language and cultural studies.