People You Think You Know

I find that generally speaking, Iranians are a jovial bunch. Quick to crack a joke, down for a party and always willing to sit down for tea with friends and family.

But as soon as the topics of Iranian culture or history come up, things turn conspiratorial and/or depressing. Of course there’s no shortage of bad history to account for this and as I work on my Internet documentary on Iran, I find myself focusing on the sorrowful Iran more often than I’d originally hoped. It’s hard not to; so much of the culture centers around mourning. Everyday sayings use analogies of martyrdom and death. Rumi’s poetry, that paragon of Persian society, is defined by sorrowful longing for a lost love. In an upcoming episode of my documentary series, an immigrant – my mom – longs for a home that doesn’t seem to exist anywhere. (watch a clip here)

So, given the Iranian tendency towards melancholy, I was very pleased recently to come across this wonderful project from a blogger named “seamorg.”

Seamorg writes:

- Looking for Persian dancers: of any style, but especially male or female Beat Boys, breakdancers, poppers, lockers, or Iranians who can do African or other ethnic dance to perform dances inspired by the green wave.

- This is a tribute to the allah-u-akbar cries from the rooftops of Iranians.

- Email me videos of yourself dancing on your roof-top.

- Why?  Because despair thrives by making us despair.  The only way to fight the sad-ness enforcement of the I.R.I is by being irrepressibly joyous.

- Please email for more details: seamorg74million@gmail.com

So if you’re a dancer, or aren’t afraid of people knowing you’re not, please shoot seamorg an email.

~Alborz