Serkis Djanbazian
Serkis Djanbazian was a pivotal figure in bringing formal ballet education and performance to Iran. His extensive training in Russia and his passion for Persian culture uniquely positioned him to bridge classical ballet with Iranian themes.
Early Education and Russian Training
His dance education began after graduating from high school when he went to Leningrad to study dance at the Vaganova Dance Academy and Lesgaft University, earning a Master of Arts degree. He graduated in 1936 and worked as a dancer/choreographer at the Kirov Theatre. He left Russia with his family in 1938 and migrated to Iran, settling in the city of Qazvin. There, he began teaching classical ballet and later even presenting small performances until 1942, when he moved to Tehran and established the Tehran Ballet School.
Contributions to Iranian Ballet and Folk Dance
Djanbazian founded the Folk Dance and Song Ensemble (gorouh-e raqs o āvāz-e maḥalli) in 1959. He staged full-length ballets such as Fountain of Bakhchisarai, Dreams of Hafez, Chinese Flower Girl, and choreographed shorter ballets including Jealousy, Persian Miniatures, and Anoush, as well as several classical and traditional Persian dances. He widely incorporated Iranian themes and stories into his artistic creations. Despite his lack of fluency in Persian, his interest in Persian literature led him, with the collaboration of Ehsan Yarshater (the founding editor of the Encyclopædia Iranica), to the production and staging of the ballet Rostam and Tahmina, based on a love story in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. He collaborated with many artists and intellectuals of the time and was among the pioneer male ballet dancers who performed on stage in different cities in Iran. He died of a heart attack in Tehran at the age of fifty.