ReBirth

Mina Image Centre is delighted to invite you to ReBirth, a night of improvised Sufi dance, music and poetry.

Performing artist Farima Berenji and musician Hanan Halwany unite for a magical performance of improvised Sufi dance and music. Joining them on stage will be Nicole Farah reciting a selection of poetry by some of the great Sufi poets including Rumi and Hafez. The performances will take place as part of Mina’s ongoing intervention “Beirut Kaputt?” curated by Stéphane Sisco, with Ayman Baalbaki’s painting “All That Remains” as the backdrop.

Dates: 27th & 28th May
Times: 5 – 6.30 pm & 7.30 – 9 pm

Admission

Admission is free. Donations greatly appreciated.
Spaces are limited so please RSVP in advance to: info@minaimagecentre.org
Otherwise entrance will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Drinks will be sold at the bar. Please respect Covid distancing rules and wear your mask.

Special thanks to Greta Khoury, Bernard Khalil, Jean Gibran, Mersel Wine, The Blue House Tea, Riwaq Beirut, The Saadallah & Loubna Foundation, and Géraldine Blache.

Artists

Performing artist: Farima Berenji
Musician: Hanan Halwany
Poetry recital: Nicole Farah
Production manager: Géraldine Blache

Farima Berenji

Farima Berenji is an Iranian-American award winning Dance Ethnologist and internationally acclaimed dance artist, choreographer, instructor, and Sufi Dance Master. Recognized and certified as one of the few world scholarly experts of ancient and mystical Iranic dance ethnology by UNESCO, she travels worldwide to record, research, lecture, perform, educate, heal and inspire dynamic creativity and rejuvenation through dance and movement. Farima is passionate about the role dance has played in her life. At her core, she believes dance rituals invoke healing and harmony and feels strongly that bringing these ancient rituals back to life will help bring positive change to our lives. In 2018, Farima became the first American-Iranian woman honored to be a TEDx dance speaker and performer. Farima is a member of the International Dance Council (CID – UNESCO), UNESCO, and the National Folk Organization (NFO). More details…

Hanan Halwany

Hanan Halwany is a renowned Buzuq player and composer who has been passionate about playing and composing music since she was young. She studied music and specialized in the Oud and later the Buzuq. She is a solo Buzuq player and has also performed with a number of other renowned musicians, bands and orchestras since 2011. Her music compositions have been broadcasted on radio stations and TV channels, and were adopted in the musical score of a Lebanese movie. She was awarded a medal and certificate in 2019 by The Beirut Popular Assembly for her Buzuq playing and composing. Hanan is currently working on a solo album, and continues to collaborate with local and international artists. She is also putting together a new band together with fellow musicians through which she is experimenting with new styles and compositions.

Nicole Farah

Nicole Farah is a human rights activist and a certified psychologist. She is currently working with KAFA, a feminist, secular, Lebanese, non-profit, non-governmental civil society organization seeking to create a society that is free of social, economic and legal patriarchal structures that discriminate against women. Nicole is a yoga teacher and 5rhythms practitioner with a passion for expressive dance and Sufi whirling. She has collaborated with artists and musicians on a number of improvised dance projects and live performances. Nicole also finds expression and rhythm in poetry and writing, and has performed at a number of spoken word events