Banafsheh Sayyad and Namah

"Part whirling dervish, part flamenco femme fatale" (Los Angeles Times), the award-winning work of Iranian-born Banafsheh Sayyad communicates the universal message of Persian Mysticism in a passionate yet meditatively fluid way, an interplay between trance and directed movement. The daughter of the legendary Iranian filmmaker, theater director and actor, Parviz Sayyad, Banafsheh holds an MFA in Dance from UCLA where she taught Mystical Persian dance. Banafsheh's work has been presented extensively in festivals and by presenters in North America, Europe and Australia.

Banafsheh performs solo or with her dance company NAMAH which was co-founded by Irene Masharo and later accompanied by composer Pejman Hadadi of Zarbang ensemble. Banafsheh and Namah perform frequently with the live music of ZARBANG ensemble. Namah's line up is Kelly Archbold, Shannon D'Souza, Roxanne Onofre and Banafsheh Sayyad.