Art & Photography Books:

Romance & Revolution

A Leap of Faith at the Iranian National Ballet
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$58.99
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Description

Set against the glamorous backdrop of the Iranian National Ballet Company in 1970s Tehran, awash with money thanks to the generous patronage of the Shah's wife Farah Pahlavi known as Shahbanu, this is the true story of Clair Symonds, a naive 19 year old Jewish ballet dancer who grew up in South Africa during the era of apartheid and who sets off to Iran without even knowing where that country is, let alone anything about its rich history and culture. Within a few months of her arrival she has met and fallen in love with Arash Alizadeh, a dashing student of architecture five years her senior and whose passion in life, much to his father's disdain, is classical dance - in addition to being a fierce critic of the Shah's dictatorial regime. Nothing, it seems, can prevent Clair and Arash's romance from moving rapidly towards marriage - even the opposition of their respective fathers. Having been seduced by the charm and allure of her dashing Iranian knight, Clair fails to take a stand against the Alizadeh family's policy of keeping her Jewishness strictly under wraps. There were dark mutterings, even from Arash, of the Holocaust being a myth to justify the existence of Israel and to dampen down sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. Not that such grand issues are of much concern to Clair - she is preoccupied with dancing the role of Zarema in The Fountain of Bakhchesarai and the great ballet classics which are part and parcel of the company's lavish repertoire. Besides, she is hopelessly in love and any criticisms of Arash's increasingly erratic behaviour fall on deaf ears. But Arash proves to be considerably more charming in courtship and seduction than in wedlock and matrimony - Clair seeing herself thrown into the arms of her new family rather than those of her husband. And in accepting the status quo she reluctantly becomes more sister than wife. Undeterred, Clair decides to marry Arash for a second time. Does love conquer all? Are religious and cultural differences insurmountable, as many would have us believe, meaning that any union between Jew and Muslim is doomed to failure from the outset? 'Romance and Revolution' is the uplifting, eye-opening true story of contemporary relevance of one young woman's long, lonely and often painful journey of empowerment as, with the Revolution and the advent of the Ayatollahs in Iran, she begins to search for solutions which, hitherto, have eluded her. Is absolutely any behaviour acceptable relating to romance? Are there any limits at all when it comes to unconditional love?

Author Biography:

She might as well have been born with pointe shoes on her feet, for Clair Symonds was destined it seems, to spend the best part of her life in dance studios and ballet companies. Having grown up in apartheid South Africa, she enrolled at the Royal Ballet School in London at the age of 17. Two years later she successfully auditioned for the Iranian National Ballet Company - even though she had little idea of where that country was located. Performing soloist roles in many of the major classics, including Giselle, Swan Lake and Les Sylphides, she met and married her husband Arash Alizadeh whilst working there. She was subsequently engaged as a lead in the Irish Ballet Company based in Cork. She travelled all over the world with the Alexander Roy London Ballet Theatre performing in India, Taiwan, Malta and Brunei. She has appeared regularly at the London Coliseum as a dancer with the English National Opera - performing in numerous operas including The Mikado on no less than 85 occasions. Although she has always claimed that her brains were in her feet , she recently disproved that assertion by completing a Bachelor of Arts degree with the Open University.
Release date Australia
January 1st, 2012
Author
Audience
  • General (US: Trade)
Pages
212
Dimensions
155x230x10
ISBN-13
9780986941429
Product ID
20845244

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