This is not a dance

How do you dance when dancing is forbidden? Dancing has been officially banned in Iran since the beginning of the Islamic revolution. All dance companies have had to stop their work. Many dancers and choreographers have fled abroad. Those who have remained have to be inventive. How can they keep the art form alive? Nastaran Razawi Khorasani, a theater maker from Iran who lives in the Netherlands, presents "This is not a dance", a dance performance that deals with censorship. What can be shown and what must remain hidden? For her piece, Nastaran conducted interviews with choreographers and dancers living in Iran between 2021 and 2023 and brings their voices to the stage. How do they deal with the dance ban? How do they practise their profession, what dangers are they exposed to, what freedoms are they fighting for? "This is not a dance" is a tribute to the body that wants to move. While the music and light build up to a frenzy, Nastaran tries to keep her dancing body under control. The piece is a celebration of
art that simply has to be made, in whatever way, shape or form.