“Everything in dance is poetry. Every movement describes a story, a feeling. The dancer takes the audience into a world of fairy tales.” ~Farima Berenji
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The Lioness – Ancient Iranic Warrioress Dances
September 10, 2017 @ 11:00 am - 3:30 pm PDT
$60
On the Path of the Ancient Ones…
We will take on the path of the ancients, a journey of discovery, in space and time to reconnect with ancient Warrioresses of Persia, Mesopotamia, and the Near East. Drinking deeply from hidden wells of inspiration, now being revealed in our time, we re-discover our empowerment in the process. Join us on an exciting and unique journey of inner and outer exploration as we awaken the ancients within us.
Open for both men and women, this intensive workshop will be based on Farima’s theories and research on movements, ritual dances (based on archery, spear, horses in war practices) and symbols of the Iranic and Mesopotamian female commanders, empresses, and the Indo-Iranian Amazons.
The workshop will have an overviews of various movements and dance figures originating from these ancient warrior tribes such as:
- Amazons (Ha-mazan) – “Amazons” is derived from the Indo-Iranian word “Ha-mazan” meaning “Woman Warriors” who were fighters of the early 5th century of current Caspian region and the northwestern province of Iran (Azarbaijan).
- Ardalans – “The Mighty Fighters” and great horseback riders.
- Sarmatian – The great spear fighters.
- Scythian – The great women archers.
- Hazarabam – Known for their great sword skills, the Hazarbam fighting units was famsouly known as the “Immortal Army.”
- Dances of the Medes and Pre-Elimite Dynasty, known as “The Lioness.”
We will have live music and native warrior style drumming by multi-instrumentalist Jayson Fann for this workshop!
Schedule
| Time | Experience |
|---|---|
| 10:30-11:00am | Registration in lobby |
| 11:00am-12:30pm | The Lioness – Part 1 |
| 12:30-2:00pm | Free time. Enjoy and explore downtown Monterey, eat lunch, walk the beach, etc. with us or by yourself. |
| 2:00-3:30pm | The Lioness – Part 2 |
The Lioness Project©
Ancient history is filled with women of various Iranian stock who were warriors as well as Goddesses. The role of the ancient Persian female warriors of Iranian stock can be traced back several millenniums. In Persia, women enjoyed a level of gender equality unmatched even to this day. Iranian women were always noted for their strength, courage, status, and affluence.
Founded in 2010 by Artistic Director and Dance Ethnologist Farima Berenji, the Lioness Project© is based on many years of collaborative research with Iranian scholars, archaeological research and discoveries on the history, rituals, dances, and symbols of ancient Persian, Indo-Iranian and Mesopotamian female commanders, empresses and the Indo-Iranian Hamazan (Amazons). It introduces movements, rituals and choreography inspired by battle and sacred movements of these ancient warrioresses.
Farima has studied these ancient battle movements, armory, and the connections between these movements with modern dance form. Her findings, theories, and dance techniques are currently taught by many educational and dance institutions across the globe including institutions and organizations in Iran and Turkey. All of her work/technique have been found and researched by Farima and her team during her intensive archaeological excavations.