Sorour Darabi ( fa, سرور دارابی; born in 1990,
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
) is an Iranian dancer and
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
. She is a member of the ICCD, an underground association that organised the ''Untimely'' festival in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
.
Since 2013,
s.he is based in Paris because he is a representative of a form of dance that is taboo in Iran.
In 2013, Darabi started studying dance in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. S.he entered the ''Exerce''
master program at CCN (Centre Chorégraphique National) in
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
. ''Subject to change,'' a performance about transformations that occur in relation to time and various places, is the result of Darabi's master program.
S.he
Darabi uses the pronoun "s.he" instead of the traditional binary-based pronouns ''he'' or ''she'', explaining: “I don't define myself as a trans artist but a
non-binary one.
€¦ I insist on this inclusive process which is close to what I am experiencing. Assigned woman at my birth, I am in transition and in permanent transformation. I'm looking for fluidity in the gender."
In 2016, Darabi was interviewed in the context of the performance of ''Farci.e'' on the festival Montpellier Danse. In the interview, s.he explained about the differences of public debate on gender in France and Iran. Darabi's sexual identity is subversive and political in the Iranian context. Accordingly, in Iran sex reassignment surgery is allowed by the authorities only to hinder the formation of homosexual relations. Therefore, it is only a way of preserving the heterosexual norms. The Iranian government prefers transgender individuals who go through the operation rather than having citizens with complex gender identity or homosexuals.
Career
In 2016, Darabi created a solo performance called ''Farci.e'' which is about language as a gendered discourse.
It explores the notions of "language, gender identity and sexuality."
Among Darabi's other projects S''avušun'' (2019) is a prominent one that examines grief and its affect in Iranian culture.
Darabi has participated in several international festivals including
Kunstenfestivaldesarts in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Onassis in Greece.
References
External links
Kunstenfestvaldesarts official websiteOfficial Website of MétéoresOfficial website of workspacebrusseslsOfficial website of ledevoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darabi, Sorour
1990 births
Living people
Iranian female dancers
Iranian LGBT dancers
Iranian women choreographers
Iranian non-binary people
LGBT choreographers
Non-binary dancers