VASHT

VASHT AWAKENS THE SENSES

THROUGH THE MOVEMENT OF DANCE

Vasht is the art of movement through dance. And through the art of dance, the fundamental concept that all humankind is equal, regardless of race and ethnicity, is expressed. Ney Naameh is the introduction of Masnavi. This, of course, is the masterpiece of the famous Iranian poet and spiritual maestro, Rumi. Rumi has long enchanted readers with his timeless and profound understanding of life, love and the reason behind existence. Now, we see Rumi’s knowledge come alive through ancient movements of the Iranian plateau on a stage. On a micro level, Vasht and Ney Naameh are promoting the 7,000 year old art, culture, and literature of the Iranian Plateau. However, on a macro level, it covers the humanity of the community at-large.

Soha Sharif is the talented founder and CEO of Vasht. Her passion for dance and history led her to conduct in-depth academic research on ancient movements of the Iranian Plateau, as well as a more than 20 year study on Molavi and the spirituality of Persian literature. Such a unique combination of knowledge and action has led to the creation of

Vasht. Vasht is the language of common practice and the art of movement. In fact, it is documented that the term ‘Vasht’ has been used in Iran as far back as 2,500 years ago.

Ney Naameh story includes two parts: the first part talks about a story of coming to the earth, and the second is about a human after coming to the earth and how he/she mixes between the truth along with the abstract. Ney Naameh’s production of Vasht focuses on a human’s story of coming to earth. This project is a multimedia production of performing arts that is based on the history, literature, art, culture, and spirituality of the Iranian experience expressed through holistic movement. At Vasht, they believe humans have been created in an equal state of affairs. Hence, all the priceless values in the culture and spirituality of Iranian plateau history that was discovered over 7,000 years ago are applicable for all human nature. They believe everyone, regardless of race or religion, will find meaning and value in our Vasht production.

“The powerful message from VASHT is so productive and profound that the audience has no choice but to grasp the concept behind the scenes and hopefully comprehend the beauty of the lighted universe,” Sharif said. So what exactly is Vasht dance? It’s multi-layered and hypnotics. Indeed, the most primitive form of human communication has been the use of bodily gestures and signs, through which human beings convey their thoughts, intentions, and meanings. These signs

Soha Sharif Founder and CEO of Vasht

were expressed rhythmically during moments of heightened emotions. Therefore, it was discovered people could communicate with anyone and anything through rhythmic movements from nature’s elements to their Oversoul. To connect to their Oversoul, people engaged in rhythmic movements in groups. From the vastness of the Iranian Plateau, we can find a variety of dances in this area related to folk traditions, rituals, and literature. Some dances are connected to heaven and some to earth. Vasht™ Performing Arts is directed to reviving ancient divine virtues – the mother of all arts – and to save them for future generations. Vasht Performing Arts projects are multi-faceted shows collected from what remains of pure and ancient Iranian plateau cultures. The aim of the organization is to enhance the general understanding and knowledge, through the use of sacred body movements and illustrations, of a region that is one of the oldest civilizations on earth.

The show is compelling as it incorporates ancient music, lost dance movements, and modern technologies, such as animation and visual effects in unison. These storytelling performances are based on folk, traditional, and classic literature of a region between Central Asia and the Middle East. Vasht is an ancient Parsi (Persian) word defined as a series of interpretive movements rooted in spiritual awakening. It is the Vasht director’s belief that Vasht is the spirit’s projection through the vessel of the body. In the Vasht community, we focus on using ancient dance, music, pantomime, animation, and scenography, alongside modern multimedia to help share some of the archetypal virtues.

Founder of Vasht, Soha, has thoroughly researched the ancient movement of the Iranian Plateau, Rumi, and spirituality. Through all the research, studies, and collections, Soha interprets all her knowledge into the language of “Vasht.” Again, Vasht is the language of movement. And the production team all work together to make the story flow together seamlessly. For example, Soha choreographed

characteristics of Ney Naameh’s show based on stories and ancient movements. Next up, we have Hamid Saeedi, a 2018 Grammy winner, who composed pieces of music based on all the dance movements in the show. Additionally there’s Ramin Barzegar, winner of the Saatchi award, who is the graphist of this stunning show.

The audience will experience an elaborate display of dance, motion art, and high-tech visual FX that will bring the story of Ney Naameh alive. The goal is to design and bring to life a traditional story with a modern production. Ney Naameh is one of the most important and universal stories of Rumi and well-known concepts within Iranzamin and Iranian Plateaus.

The production embarks on a journey to reach euphoria. This dance theater overcomes phalanges during the journey, eventually reaching the final chapter where Rumi reaches his spiritual state. The performers adorn costumes that represent the nature in which the story embarks on its path. This is all in tune with Rumi’s description of the story of Ney Naameh. The choreography

design is based on a combination of ancient movements and Iranian geometrics. And when married together with modern arts, all beautifully illustrate Rumi’s story. Vasht™ Performing Arts is directed to reviving ancient divine virtues – the mother of all arts – and to save them for future generations. Vasht Performing Arts projects are multi-faceted shows collected from what remains of pure and ancient Iranian plateau cultures. “The aim of our organization is to enhance the general understanding and knowledge, through the use of sacred body movements and illustrations, of a region that is one of the oldest civilizations on earth,” Sharif said. In the Vasht community, Vasht focuses on using ancient dance, music, pantomime, animation, and scenography, alongside modern multimedia to help share some of the archetypal virtues. Vasht is a non-religious, non-political, and non-profit foundation established in California in 2016 to produce and promote Iranian plateau ancient arts, wisdom, and culture for the benefit of the community at large. To donate and learn more, please visit www.vasht.org or call 818-564-6111 or email at info@vasht.org.