Sama-e Rast – Dance of Mugham

Canada’s acclaimed Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre and legendary Alim Qasimov of Azerbaijan in concert– Celebrating the Winter Solstice ONE NIGHT ONLY

Choreographed and performed by Sashar Zarif

Music composed and performed by Alim Qasimov and Ensemble

Dramaturgy & Creative Facilitation by Elizabeth Langley

Lighting by Arun Srinivasan

Costumes by Sashar Zarif

Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre proudly presents the world premiere of Sama-e Rast, an unprecedented, multi-layered evening of integrated dance, music and poetry stemming from the ancient mystic traditions of Western and Central Asia. Choreographed and performed by Toronto’s acclaimed Sashar Zarif, accompanied by the legendary Azerbaijani Mugham master singer Alim Qasimov and his Ensemble, this thrilling DanceWorks CoWorks Series event is presented Friday, December 21 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts’ George Weston Recital Hall in celebration of the Winter Solstice.

Sama-e Rast is the first of a planned trilogy to introduce the art of Mugham – connected to the Sufi and Shamanic cultures of Azerbaijan, Iran and Central Asia – to Canadian audiences through Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre’s Dance of Mugham Series. These are the same cultures that have been introduced to the west through the poetry and philosophy of people like Rumi and Omar Khayyam.

Sama-e Rast represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to self-discovery, in an innovative reconstruction of a dance form based on poetry, spirituality, calligraphy and the music of Mugham. Centuries ago, Mugham was a devotional integrated practice that brought all of these elements together to explore psychological moods on the path to self-discovery..However, over the years, the connection between the poetry and music disappeared and the dance element deteriorated such that only traces of it exist today. Sama-e Rast is the culmination of an extraordinary eight-year collaboration between Zarif and Qasimov – last seen in Toronto with Yo Yo Ma in 2010 and with the Kronos Quartet at Luminato in 2011 – to reintegrate dance back into the art form, and reincarnate this lost artistic practice. A not-to-be missed event.

Award-winning Azerbaijan filmmaker Elchin Musaoglu, one of the foremost film directors in Asia, premieres his short documentary Three Apples Fell from the Sky at the end of the show. Based on Sashar Zarif’s pilgrimages to Baku since 2004, the film tracks Zarif’s search for the Dance of Mugham as well as for his own self-discovery..

A unique audio and visual exhibition of Sashar Zarif’s eleven years of research in Western and Central Asia for the Dance of Mugham partners the show and is open for viewing from 7pm on in the Gallery.

Sama-e Rast is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Aga Khan Museum.