Iran, My Mother – A Dance Tribute by Banafsheh

From the dark depths of oppression where the unimaginable happens to those who are simply trying to live with sovereignty, love and joy, the world’s first women-led revolution was born in Iran with the central slogan — Woman, Life, Freedom — inspiring all of us to stand for a just and equitable world while remaining aligned to our greater virtues and what we love. For those in Iran, this comes at an unimaginable cost.

Among those whose lives have been lost and innocence destroyed by the heartless brutality and insidiousness of the Islamic regime are the children of Iran… the light of possibility for a country in need of healing and a world in need of urgent change. 

Iran, My Mother, an original dance tribute by Iranian-born sacred dancer Banafsheh Sayyad, represents the heartache, eternal love and bond between mother, child, and homeland as a deeply heartfelt and symbolic tribute to the Iranian mothers whose children’s lives were brutally taken.

In this dance, Banafsheh aims to express the deceased children’s deep, abiding love for their mothers, and for their homeland, especially in the time of Nowruz where families gather to celebrate. For many families, there is an empty place at their gathering which will never be filled… an ache that will never be cured.

Through this sacred dance, we invite you to hold space for the unbreakable bond of mother and child and their ongoing heartdance — which can never be broken. And for the sheer possibility that as the Earth renews herself, positive change can happen when we allow our shared humanity to guide us.