Message on the Opening of iranianballet.org
It is with profound gratitude and heartfelt hope that I welcome you to the newly launched iranianballet.org, the official online platform of Les Ballets Persans, Eastern Dance Forum, and my personal archive and cultural initiatives. This website is not merely a digital home for the organisations I have created over the past two decades, but a foundational step in the long-term vision of rebuilding a state-supported national dance institution for the Iran of tomorrow — a future democratic and secular Iran.
This site stands at the intersection of art, history, and national renewal. It reflects a dream that began in my youth — a deep love for dance and an unshakable belief in its power to unify, elevate, and inspire. What started as an adolescent aspiration matured into a bold and historic artistic endeavor with the re-establishment of Les Ballets Persans in exile in 2002 — the first institutional platform for Iranian ballet and contemporary national dance traditions since the 1979 Revolution. Today, with this website, that vision enters a new chapter — as a consultative cultural forum, rooted in artistic excellence, national service and decades of artistic experience, intended to contribute meaningfully to the future civic and cultural infrastructure of Iran.
This initiative is national in scope and serious in purpose. It embodies both the cultural memory of Iran’s suppressed dance heritage and a forward-looking ambition to secure a rightful place for Iranian performing arts in global and national narratives. The past is acknowledged through rich archival preservation; the present is embodied in our active documentation, education, and cross-cultural dialogue; and the future lies in our unwavering commitment to institutional development, cultural diplomacy, and public service.
Building a national dance institution for a future democratic Iran.Nima Kiann
Les Ballets Persans — reimagined and rebuilt in exile — is envisioned not only as a performing company but as a central cultural pillar in Iran’s post-theocratic renaissance. Alongside this, our Eastern Dance Forum seeks to create intellectual, critical, and academic dialogue around dance in the Eastern world, situating Iranian movement traditions within a broader civilizational context. At the core of this mission lies a belief in cultural dignity, historical continuity, and the right of every Iranian to access and participate in the nation’s artistic life.
This platform also introduces Nikan Foundation, a humanitarian and educational initiative rooted in the vision once discussed by cultural leaders of pre-revolutionary Iran — a vision of service to orphaned and underprivileged children, not only through arts education, but through providing lasting care, empowerment, and belonging. With goals that reach beyond arts and culture, the Nikan Foundation is the social conscience of our movement — a beacon of a future civil society where culture and charity are inseparable.
To all enthusiasts, professionals, researchers, and scholars of dance, ballet, and Iranian culture: this website is yours. It is a growing repository of knowledge, an open invitation to dialogue, and a call to collective action. It seeks to unite Iranian voices in the artistic and cultural diaspora and to extend a hand of collaboration to those committed to the cultural revival of our homeland.
Let this be the beginning of a new national initiative — a platform for building the foundations of a free and cultured Iran, and for reclaiming what was once lost: not only the art of dance, but the public institutions, civic dreams, and human values that give meaning to national identity.
Welcome.
Nima Kiann
