Among the many meanings held by the Persian word kereshmeh is that of “someone graceful when dancing.” It is similar to the concept of ajé in flamenco, a term used to define a graceful way of dancing with the right essence and expressiveness. This quality or gift held by some dancers is the common thread in this project created by dancer Patricia Álvarez and Iranian musician Kaveh Sarvarian.

“Kereshmeh” is a journey of the senses woven through the movement of sounds evoked in Sarvarian’s original compositions. It is a staged ritual in which Patricia Alvarez’s dance pays homage to those encounters which instill our bodies with different types of motion that evoke memories inherited and knowledge grasped, budding from the very essence of one’s own free and unique form of movement. It is a reflection upon our symbolic bodies, our traditions, the identity handed down to us, and the identity we choose to find our place within the world.

Kereshmeh acts as a meeting point for two creators who seek to deepen the relationship between movement and sound, thereby capturing their view of the intangible heritage from their cultures of origin. That heritage becomes a living, changing force which is also historically connected, since the Persian, Iberian and Mediterranean cultures all came into contact through Arab culture during the historical era of Al-Andalus.

This staged ritual uses the artistic languages mastered by its creators. Traditional Persian music and North African dances form a fusion with flamenco and contemporary dance. Using a sound system based on loops a sound space is created which one could describe as straddling traditional acoustic and electronic sounds, hosting a series of scenes composed with different languages and features, and thus forming a ritual that leads us through different times, emotions and sensations.

Patricia Álvarez
With a bachelor’s degree in Arabic Philology and Islam, (UAM, Madrid, 1999), Álvarez is a dancer and independent researcher of body language and gesture within the cultural traditions of the Mediterranean. In her dance, she combines traditional and folklore dances with contemporary dance and flamenco. Born in Madrid to an Andalusian and Castilian family, a search for identity through movement and dance is a constant in her work. She carries out her work in a wide range of fields, including teaching through courses, workshops and regular dance classes, as well as other disciplines involving bodily movement, always employing a methodology which combines the physical work of dance itself with reflection upon dance’s use as an art form serving different interests and as a personal form of expression linked to humanity, placing an emphasis on a post-colonial viewpoint of languages like Middle Eastern dance and flamenco. She also educates the public at large in the form of lectures, writings and podcasts about dance and movement culture. On an artistic plane, in addition to developing the project “Kereshmeh” in conjunction with musician Kaveh Sarvarian, she is also collaborating with the internationally known traditional Castilian music group Vigüela on a show currently being prepared by the name of “Mujereson.” She also performs research work, in the form of two projects titled “Cuerpos que se desplazan” (“Bodies Displaced”) and “Andalusoy” (“Andalusian I Am”), a closer look at the historical space of Al-Andalus and the concept of the Moorish through the body. She has worked as an artistic consultant and movement coach on the works “Petróleo” by Poliana Lima for Teatros del Canal (Madrid) and “L’Aimée” (contemporary opera) by Álvaro Martínez, for the Traficc Collective (Paris).

Kaveh Sarvarian
A composer and virtuoso musician, Sarvarian is the epitome of a new international generation of Iranian musicians exploring and experimenting with innovative types of sounds using their great Persian musical legacy. He holds a Master’s degree in Composition from the Tehran University of Arts. During his lengthy career, he has performed and taught in different countries. In Iran, he was a member of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra (flute), the Rastak Ensemble (folk wind instruments) and the Naima jazz fusion group (flute, ney, tombak). He was also a professor at the University of Tehran, in the Department of Music and Composition. Based in Madrid for seven years, in addition to co-directing the project “Kereshmeh” with Patricia Álvarez, he is currently directing the group Parsinav, with which he is exploring jazz sounds in traditional Persian music. He also collaborates with or is a member of other music groups, including Darawish, Arab music of the Mediterranean, La Ruta de la Seda, Capella de Ministrers and Carles Magraner, Ensemble, Eduardo Paniagua and others.He has had four albums published, Parisan: Quartets for Ney, Persian Rug (a flute and piano duet), Avareh, Ofogh, Sound of the Orient: Persian music on a trip to Spain, and Kereshmeh: A new Persian music perspective. He has also authored three educational books, Ney’s Comprehensive Method of Teaching, Ornamentations of Persian Music and Tombak’s Method. He won the award for Best Composer at the Fadjr International Festival and Best Soundtrack at the Iran National Media Festival.

Original idea, artistic direction and choreography: Patricia Álvarez
Original music and musical direction: Kaveh Sarvarian
Loops, ney; flutes, percussion: Kaveh Sarvarian
Dance: Patricia Álvarez