House of Strength
Hi, I'm Nooshin Rostami, a New York-based interdisciplinary artist and educator. I was raised in Tehran, Iran and currently live and work in Brooklyn, NY, where I have a studio at Industry City.
I've been given an amazing opportunity to perform my piece House of Strength at the DUMBO Arts Festival on Saturday, September 27th and Sunday, September 28th. House of Strength is a performance inspired by traditional Persian gymnasiums called Zoorkhaneh (House of Strength) where male participants practice physical training, as well as virtues of humbleness, forgiveness, brotherhood, and generosity. Women have traditionally been strictly forbidden from entering these gyms where male semi-nude performances are led by a singer who chants sacred poetry and plays drums and bells. Women are occasionally allowed to enter the arena and sit as members of the audience.
With my first performance, I reimagined the Zoorkhaneh as an exclusively female space, where women artists collectively performed a contemporary rendition of these traditional rituals through choreographed movements with props and music. For my performance of House of Strength at the DUMBO Arts Festival, I've invited male and female artists from different ethnic backgrounds working in a variety of disciplines to participate in reinventing House of Strength as an inclusive, global (rather than culturally-specific) and androgynous arena.
Visit the House of Strength website for photos and videos of my first performance: www.houseofstrength.info
A recent review on our first performance:
• The House of Melancholy and Strength, Written by Gelare Khoshgozaran, Published by jadaliyya
What I Need
Honoraria for Performers, Sound Artist, Choreographer and Production manager
Rehearsal Space
Safe Platform for the Dancers to be able to perform on cobblestone
Funds for Repairing Props
New Costumes for Dancers
Photographer and Videographer
Post-Production: Video Editing, Website, Etc.
YOUR SUPPORT!
Artists
Director and Producer : Nooshin Rostami
Dancers : Jessica Israel, Anahita Mogahaddam, Catherine Murcek, Scott Olsen, Abby Price, Princeton Spicer
Choreographer: Autumn Kioti
Sound Artist: Negar Behbahani
Production Manager: Amirmohsen Shahheidari
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Previous members, whose dedication and work made our first performance possible:
Mersiha Mesihovic (Choreographer, Dancer and Hairstylist)
Amanda Hameline, Natalie Pulido (Dancers)
