The Dance of the Rose and the Nightingale (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780815607274)

This is an extraordinary autobiography of a young girl growing up in Iran. The daughter of an English Christian mother and an Iranian Zoroastrian father, Nesta Ramazani sketches her personal life story against the backdrop of a society marked by the fusion of Iranian, Islamic, and Western cultures, and by the efforts of an authoritarian state to force modernization on a traditional society.

Within this multicultural tapestry of personal, cultural, and national life, the author portrays how she came to love Persian and Western music, poetry, and dance. But translating this love into practice seemed an insurmountable task until an American woman pioneered the establishment of the first indigenous Iranian ballet company. As a member of this troupe, the author violated convention, performing first in her native land and then traveling abroad to exhibit this beautiful synthesis of Persian/Western forms to foreign audiences.

The significance of this work transcends an autobiography penned by an Iranian woman--still a taboo in traditional Iranian society--it is a unique microcosm of today's universal quest for a dialogue among civilizations. Ramazani's story will appeal not only to students of Iran, the Middle East, and women's studies, but also to general readers.

Author: Nesta Ramazani
ISBN-10: 081560727X
ISBN-13: 9780815607274
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Language: English
Published: 02/01/2002
Pages: 324
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 8.94h x 6.58w x 1.04d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2002 pg. 340