Nima Kiann
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Nima Kiann | |
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| Born | January 26, 1970 Tehran, Iran |
| Nationality | Iranian-Swedish |
| Known for | |
Nima Kiann (Persian: نیما کیان; born January 26, 1970) is an Iranian-born Swedish ballet artist, choreographer, visual artist and dance scholar.
He recreated the disbanded Iranian National Ballet Company in Sweden and through his dance company, Les Ballets Persans, worked with national ballet companies in Central Asia resulting in revival of forgotten ballets, and organizing the first international tours for these companies since the breakdown of the Soviet Union. Kiann is a recipient of several international awards.
Early life and education
Nima Kiann was born in Tehran, Iran and attended Tehran Fine Arts School (Persian: هنرستان هنرهای زیبای پسران تهران). At the age of seventeen he moved to Turkey and later to Sweden. He entered the Gothenburg Ballet Academy in Sweden in 2001[1] as the only male dance student. Lia Schubert, the founder director of the academy, scheduled a special classical training program for Kiann.[2] He subsequently took principal roles at Theatre Talia. Kiann received his first professional dance contract in 1994 at the Göteborg Opera (Gothenburg Opera Ballet), a year before completing his dance education at the Academy. After his graduation, he continued his dance education at École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower in France.[1] His training in classical ballet was under Lia Schubert, Susanne Lindström, Anthony Ferro, Rosella Hightower, Marc du Bouaÿs, James Urban, Hassen Bahiri and László Mézsáros.
Recreation of the Iranian National Ballet Company
After a freelancing dancer career in Europe, Kiann began an effort to reestablish the Iranian National Ballet Company in 1998. The project, taking five years to be realized, resulted in the establishment of the Foundation of Les Ballets Persans in Sweden (2001).[3][4] The dance company had its World Premiere in 2002.[5][6] L’Academie de Ballets Persans, the Forum of Persian and Middle Eastern Dance and the European Youth Dance Project, are educational programs established within Les Ballets Persans.[7]
Collaboration with national ballet companies in Central Asia
The World Premiere of Les Ballets Persans included two full-length ballets (Babek and Seven Beauties - 2002) of Azerbaijani choreographers Rafiga Akhundova and Maksud Mamedov.[3] These pieces were created during the Soviet Era[8] and had not been performed since their excerption from the repertoire of the National Ballet of Azerbaijan in 1970's and 1980's.[9] In 2012, Kiann was appointed as the Principal Guest Choreographer of National Ballet of Tajikistan, supporting the recently reestablished Tajik balle. Kiann organized in 2014 the first international presentation of dancers of the National Ballet of Kyrgyzstan in the West after the fall of the Soviet Union as a result of a collaboration between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Culture and Les Ballets Persans.[10]
Academic activities
Kiann has served as director of several cultural associations and managing Parnian Radio in Sweden as its founder and feature editor. Kiann is the author of several multilingual scholar papers about dancing in Iran, Middle East and Central Asia and had had academic contributions to art universities in Austria, England, France, Germany, Iran, Tajikistan and the United States. These works are: Fate of Dance in Iranian Diaspora (1999), Persian Dance and Its Forgotten History (2000), Farhang-e nām va vāzheh-gizini barāye radeh-hā-ye bāleh dar zabān-e fārsi [Terminology and Equivalent Terms for Ballet Titles in Persian Language] (2004), History of Ballet in Azerbaijan (2005). He has served as artistic advisor for ministries of culture, cultural organizations and festivals, among them State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Tajikistan, Arts and Culture Festival of Tirgan in Canada,[11] Culture Ministry of Kyrgyzstan,[12] etc.
Recognition
On March 9, 2008, Toos Foundation organized a gala performance in London, at Logan Hall-University of London, to celebrate Nima Kiann on his artistic endeavors and achievements resulting in promotion and realization of Iran's most extensive artistic project ever carried out outside of Iran. The gala performance included a seminar on 3000 years of Persian dance history based on one of Kiann's vastly regarded articles:[13]
Kiann was offered the Ferdowsi Award "For his untiring efforts to give life to a forgotten Iranian cultural and artistic heritage, and for recreating and reestablishing the Iranian National Ballet through his dance company of Les Ballets Persans".[14][15]
Choreographies
Moving Through Secrecy (1997)
Music: Iranian Orchestra for New Music
Femme (2002) - variation
Music: Hossein Alizadeh
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Separation (2002)
Music: Music: Majid Derakhshani
Vocal: Zohreh Jooya
Costumes: Doriz
Simay-Jan (2002) - variation
Music: Majid Derakhshani
Vocal: Zohreh Jooya
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Devine Banquet (2002)
Music: Shamss Ensemble
Vocal: Shahram Nazeri
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Femme (2003) - full-length ballet
Music: Hossein Alizadeh
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Les étoiles (2003)
Music: Majid Derakhshani
Vocal: Zohreh Jooya
Costumes: Tahir Tairov
Papou-Soleymani (2004)
Music: Majid Derakhshani
Vocal: Zohreh Jooya
Costumes: Jamal
Bon Voyage (2004)
Music: Majid Derakhshani
Vocal: Zohreh Jooya
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Kaveh the Blacksmith (2004)
Music: Ahmad Pejman and Mohammad Shams
Vocal: Mario Taghadossi
Costumes: Jamal and Nima Kiann
Scheherazade (2004) - after Fokine
Music: Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
Orchestra: Persian International Philharmonic
Conductor: Alexander Rahbari
Costumes: Jamal
Simay-jan the Gilani Girl (2007) - full-length ballet
Music: Majid Derakhshani
Vocal: Zohreh Jooya
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Rumi Rumi (2008)
Music: Shamss Ensemble
Composer: Kaykhosro Pournazeri
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Turquoise Land - Dream of Peace (2008)
Music: Aref Ensemble
Composer: Parviz Meshkatian
Costumes & Tiara Design: Nima Kiann
Hanging Gardens of Lost Dreams (2008)
Music: Alexander Rahbari
Orchestra: Persian International Philharmonic
Conductor: Alexander Rahbari
Costumes: Nima Kiann
Vis and Ramin (2011)
Libretto: Maria Sabaye Moghaddam
Music: Peyman Soltani
Orchestra: Slovak National Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Alexander Rahbari
Costumes & Tiara Design: Nima Kiann
Symphony of Elegy (2012) - after Fokine
Music: Alexander Rahbari
Orchestra: Persian International Philharmonic
Conductor: Alexander Rahbari
Costumes: Nima Kiann
References
- ^ a b Official biography of Nima Kiann
- ^ Biography video of Nima Kiann presented on the occasion of his celebration in London on March 9, 2008
- ^ a b Les Ballets Persans. (2002). World Premiere souvenir program booklet. Stockholm: LBP Publications
- ^ Iranian National Ballet will be re-established. Kayhan Newspaper of London. No 792, p 5. January 27, 2000
- ^ Åkesson, Johan (2002) Irans nationalbalett återuppstår [Iran's national ballet will be revived]. Sesam Cultural Magazine. No 34, September 4, 2002
- ^ Ångström, Anna (2002) Ett steg mot persisk återupprättelse: Förbjuden dans samlar folk från hela världen [One step closer to the Persian rehabilitation: Forbidden dance collects people from all around the world] Svenska Dagbladet. October 3, 2002
- ^ 10th anniversary memorial book for Les Ballets Persans. (2012). Stockholm: LBP Publications
- ^ Azəәrbaycan Dövləәt Akademik Opera vəә Balet Teatri (1996). Memorial book for Azerbaijan State Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Baku: Published by United Nations Development Programme
- ^ "THE IRANIAN: Nima Kiann's ballet company , Darius Kadivar". iranian.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ Nima Kiann's joint press conference with Deputy Culture Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Baktygul Blekekova, at the Ministry of Culture. VESTI News Agency, February 5, 2014, AKIpress. February 6, 2014
- ^ Tirgan Festival - Nima Kiann, Dance Advisor Archived 2014-12-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ AKIpress. February 6, 2014
- ^ Kiann, Nima (2000) Persian Dance and Its Forgotten History Stockholm: LBP Publications.
- ^ Celebration of Nima Kiann Gala Performance - Part 1
- ^ Celebration of Nima Kiann Gala Performance - Part 2
- Bibliography
- Craine, Debra & Mackrell, Judith (2000). Oxford Dictionary of Dance. New York: Oxford University Press
- Koegler, Horst (1987). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet. New York: Oxford University Press
- Oxford Reference
- Tirgan Festival - Nima Kiann Dance Advisor
- Nima Kiann; Founder of the New Iranian National Ballet in Europe. Shahrvand newspaper, Canada. 2009-10-13. Article in Persian language.
- Dance Guide - European Directory of Dance
- Marquis Who's Who
External links
- Official website
- Les Ballets Persans
- Eastern Dance Forum
- The Global Language of Dance - An Interview with Iranian Ballet Artist Nima Kiann (Retrieved 2013-03-23)