Sufi’s Saraband invites you on a mystical journey where music, poetry and Sufi dance intertwine to evoke spiritual ecstasy and the quest for the absolute. Carried by the ensemble The Modal Experience, this creation explores the deep links between Eastern musical traditions and Western baroque heritage, weaving a soundtrack where Persian modality and Baroque ornamentation meet with grace and refinement.

At the heart of this show, the fiery verses of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, a 13th century Sufi poet, encounter the engaged and sensual writings of Forough Farrokhzad, a major figure in contemporary Iranian poetry. Two sensibilities, two eras, but the same celebration of desire, love and transcendence.

Inspired by the art of samâ, the dance of the whirling dervishes, Sufi’s Saraband gives us to see and hear an inner quest where music becomes prayer, and dance, meditation in movement. The mesmerizing dance of Rana Gorgani accompanies the deep song of Aida Nosrat, while the dialogue between Eastern and Western instruments – archiluth, harpsichord, lyra, santour, zarb and daf – reveals an incredibly rich sound palette.

Under the direction of Keyvan Chemirani, these musical traditions merge into a free language, where improvisation and rigor come together to better carry us towards intoxication and ecstasy. Between fire and meditation, between the East and the West, Sufi’s Saraband is a celebration of mystical beauty, an enchanting sarabande where your souls will dance in unison with those of the artists.