ENCHANTING TRICK
Iran Folklore Society
Where Architecture Meets Aspiration, and Heritage Finds Its Voice. The home of the National Opera, National Ballet, and National Orchestra of Iran. An architectural monument for the capital in which Les Ballets Persans will someday build its nest.
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A Symbol of Cultural Renaissance
In the vibrant and multifaceted history of Iran’s cultural development, few initiatives have had the profound significance of the original Iranian National Folklore Society. Founded during the late 1960s under the patronage of Empress Farah Pahlavi and with the leadership of the distinguished British choreographer and dance researcher Robert de Warren, the Society represented an unprecedented effort to preserve, study, and promote the rich diversity of Iranian folk dance and music traditions.
The Society’s mission was to gather the fragmented and often endangered traditions from across Iran’s many provinces, research their authentic roots, and present them in a respectful yet artistically elevated manner. This ambitious project led to the professionalization of Iranian folk dance for the first time, safeguarding countless forms of movement, costume, and ritual at a critical time when rapid modernization threatened to erase traditional expressions. The activities of the Iranian National Folklore Society culminated in creating a professional troupe and an extensive archive of choreographic and ethnographic materials — a legacy that was tragically interrupted by the events of 1979.
A New Beginning: Iran Folklore Society for the 21st Century
Today, more than four decades later, the revival of the Iran Folklore Society emerges as a crucial cultural endeavor for the future of Iran. Les Ballets Persans, committed to the renaissance of Iran’s dance heritage, will undertake a leading role in supporting the establishment of the new Society. This revival seeks not merely to commemorate a golden chapter in Iran’s cultural history, but to create a sustainable, dynamic, and scholarly institution that can once again collect, protect, teach, and disseminate Iran’s folk traditions — in Iran and internationally.
Roots remain. Folklore revives our heritage’s dance.Nima Kiann
Once upon a time, and in order to unify the country and create a national identity, Reza Shah emphasized the Persian language. He succeeded in forming the contemporary Iranian national identity — a necessity of that time and era. The necessity of the future Iran, however, is to emphasize the diversity of cultures, languages, and traditions of folklore within the country. This vision will form a rainbow of colors that can attract tourism, where Iran’s different ethnic groups, cultures, languages, and costumes will be praised and promoted. On the same foundation that once focused on a single unifying language, the new Iran will celebrate and proudly present its rich diversity to the world.
In an era where globalization poses new risks to local and indigenous cultures, the Iran Folklore Society will stand as a beacon for the preservation, documentation, education, and creative reimagining of Iran’s unique folkloric heritage.
Mission and Activities
The revived Iran Folklore Society will operate with a broad and ambitious program of activities, including:
- Field Research and Documentation: Conducting ethnographic fieldwork across Iranian provinces to collect dances, music, costumes, oral histories, and ritual practices.
- Higher Education and Academic Programs: Offering professional degrees in folk dance pedagogy, choreography, and dance research in collaboration with higher educational institutions. Students will be trained in both the practical and theoretical dimensions of folk art.
- Artistic Production and Performances: Creating and supporting folk dance companies and ensembles that present authentic and artistically refined interpretations of traditional material on national and international stages.
- Archiving and Publications: Building a national archive of Iranian folk dances and producing scholarly and popular publications to ensure public access to the research.
International Collaboration: Partnering with other folklore and ethnographic institutions worldwide to promote intercultural dialogue and the global recognition of Iran’s rich cultural heritage.
Building a Representative and Living Institution
The Iran Folklore Society will not only serve as an academic and cultural center, but also as a national representative body for folk dance practitioners, researchers, and artists across Iran. It will protect the interests of traditional artists, advocate for the rights of regional cultural communities, and create an infrastructure for the transmission of intangible heritage to future generations.
In the long term, the Society aims to become an indispensable cultural institution integrated into Iran’s official cultural and educational system, much like the Centre National de la Danse (CND) in France or the National Folk Organization models existing in other countries.
Preserving the Soul of Iran
Folk dance is more than an artistic form; it is a living memory of a people’s spirit, struggles, joys, and rituals. The revival of the Iran Folklore Society is a call to safeguard the soul of Iranian culture — to honor the diversity of its many peoples, languages, traditions, and celebrations. It is an investment not only in art, but in identity, education, and cultural resilience.
Through a combination of historical respect, academic rigor, and artistic creativity, the new Iran Folklore Society will restore a lost treasure of Iranian national heritage and pass it on to inspire generations yet to come.