The Last Dance

Presented by Time Will Tell Arts Society, the Naadaleela Ensemble will perform “The Last Dance”, with music composed by Amir Eslami featuring choreographers/dancers Fereshteh Zakeri (Iran), Ashvini Sundaram (India), and Chengxin Wei (China). Fusing together Persian, Indian, Taiwanese, and Chinese traditional music and dance, The Last Dance reflects on the struggle for freedom in Iran, as well as our shared value for humanity, friendship, and artistic expression.

The Naadaleela Ensemble creates a musical conversation between ancient cultures that span the Silk Road – from Iran to India via China to Taiwan – and which have been influencing each other for over 2,000 years. The Naadaleela Ensemble was born out of a desire to explore the common (and not-so-common) musical ground between the music of the “Eastern” world. The sounds of Persian and Indian classical music meet with those of Taiwan and China, tempered with a tinge of North American jazz aesthetics.

The Naadaleela Ensemble is Persian ney player Amir Eslami, Carnatic musicians Vidyasagar Vankayala (voice) and Curtis Andrews (mridangam), jazz guitarist Jared Burrows, and members of the adventurous Orchid Ensemble (Lan Tung - erhu & voice, Dailin Hsieh - zheng, Jonathan Bernard - percussion). The group creates new musical works and explorations from its members as well as arranges existing repertoire from their various cultural backgrounds, taking the listener on a fascinating musical journey. In addition to Amir’s The Last Dance, Naadaleela will also perform music by other band members Curtis Andrews, Lan Tung, Vidyasagar Vankayala, and Jared Burrows at this concert.

Even though the group represents some of the largest cultural communities in BC, very few projects feature such collaborations. Drawing on their training across a range of musical disciplines, the musicians reach into and across lines of difference, fusing together influences of South Indian, Chinese, Persian, Taiwanese, Indonesian, western classical, contemporary music, and jazz. The result is a heady and aromatic offering.

Host or Publisher Time Will Tell Arts Society and The Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre