Zanvibe & Us
Updated: Jul 12, 2022
It was the end of 2021, the COVID-19 quarantines on one hand, and the grief of losing my young brother on the other, made me and my teenage daughter more depressed day by day.
On the recommendation of my therapist and my great interest in music since childhood, I decided to start a dance class. According to my therapist, dancing forces you to be intimate with your body, you are happy and practice until you let go, and when you let go, your brain starts dancing, you are not afraid of judgment, and when you dance, you reach a balance inside and outside of your body.
I was particularly interested in Shirin Naseri's cheerful personality and spirit when she was working on television, especially the documentaries she made about dance, and I followed her on social networks.
One cold, dark winter day, when I decided to take a dance class, I sent a message to Shirin on Instagram. "Do you have a dance class?" I asked her.
Shirin wrote to me "No, I don't have dance session. Sorry."
I was not disappointed and wrote back "I am not looking for training either, I just want you to dance and I dance with you."
My dear Shirin agreed and we decided to start online classes together for the next week. Before starting, because it was a new idea, none of us knew the outcome of the work.
When the first session ended and we danced online for an hour, I had an indescribable feeling that I had not experienced for a long time. I had so much energy and good thoughts and I was very happy that I turned this decision into action.
The sessions went in the same way and each class was better and more productive than the one before, and each session was full of good energy, far from judgment, we were happy together and danced carefree.
I must admit that the pure and sincere spirit of my dear Shirin is praiseworthy.
After some time, I realised how much it helped to increase my muscle strength, improve my overall body endurance and manage my weight.
In one of the classes, both of us started talking about our feelings towards this experience. After we shared this common feeling of happiness, we decided to share this unique experience with the rest of the capable women of our countries, as we both are Iranian, and British and see both countries as our homes.