The Dance of the Rose and the Nightingale (Gender, Culture, and Politics in the Middle East)

"This is an autobiography of a young girl growing up in Iran. The daughter of an English Christian mother and an Iranian Zoroastrian father, Nesta Ramazani sketches her personal life story against the backdrop of a society marked by the fusion of Iranian, Islamic, and Western cultures, and by the efforts of an authoritarian state to force modernization on a traditional society.". "Within this multicultural tapestry of personal cultural, and national life, the author shows how she came to love Persian and Western music, poetry, and dance. But translating this love into practice seemed an insurmountable task until an American woman pioneered the establishment of the first Iranian ballet company. As a member of this troupe, the author violated convention, performing first in her native land and then traveling abroad to exhibit this beautiful synthesis of Persian/Western forms to foreign audiences.". "The significance of this work transcends an autobiography penned by an Iranian woman - still a taboo in traditional Iranian society - it is a unique microcosm of today's universal quest for a dialogue among civilizations. Ramazani's story will appeal to a general audience as well as to students of Iranian, Middle East, and women's studies."--BOOK JACKET.