Evening Conjures Up Somber, Spirited Images of Iran

It was Saturday Night Persian Fever when the single-named Jamal successfully presented an evening of his works with Avaz International Dance Theatre at the Japan America Theater. Jamal, who co-directs the company with Anthony Shay, delivered an eight-part program featuring four premieres and an array of painted backdrops and magnificent costumes.

While women have been Avaz’s backbone, the addition of more men has broadened the dance palette, although their steps are not always as fluid or intricate as those of their female counterparts. In “Kuch (Migration),” Jamal’s vision of Iran approached a postmodernist sensibility, with Edgar Miramontes and Paul Torres essaying martial arts moves, including slow-motion lunging. A haunting quality permeated the funeral dance, with black-clad men and women creating a somber pageantry in circle formations and spatial lines.

Rapid turning characterized “Bojnurd,” as women wielded bright scarves and men brandished sticks, while wedding rituals came to spirited life in “Baluchistan,” highlighted by delicate female fingers snaking the air and their tiny steps yielding to ebullient whirling.

Jamal opted for a more narrative tack in “Nabz (Pulse),” with a writhing Karen Ochoa possessed by evil spirits, and Lori Parker as her shimmying exorcist. Partially dancing in silence, save for the sounds of ankle bells and drum-slapping, the company cut loose in this finale, which successfully integrated African-like moves into the mix.

Virtuosi Mohammad Nejad, Craig Merriweather and Hooshang Kazemi (ney, percussion and tanbur, respectively), provided musical interludes, while Shay’s vocalizing of Persian oldies elicited huge cheers. Mistress of ceremonies Moloud Zehtab, reminiscent of Leona Helmsley, spoke in Farsi (and endlessly), leaving non-Iranians very much in the dark.