2/13/2008

Reaching for Stars

In 1977 when he was only 16, on Bijan Kalantari’s urging, his father sent him to New York to attend school and to learn ballet on an international level. Staying with Bijan Kalantari for the first several months, he was attending high school during the day and open ballet classes in the afternoons. He talks about his early years in New York with sweet sadness. With Iran on the brink of a revolution, his small scholarship covering only a cockroach-infested small room in New York City with salsa-playing Peurto Rican neighbors, he was homesick for Iran and for his family.
He auditioned for School of American Ballet in 1978 and was admitted. The prestigious ballet school founded by George Balanchine, the neo-classical ballet legend and Lincoln Kirstein, the New York cultural giant, was the academy established to train and recruit ballet dancers for New York City Ballet.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am dying to know more about him. Why you have not mentioned his name yet?
However this kind of writing makes us more eager to follow his story.

Anonymous said...

سلام نازی جونم
باز هم این اسپمر پیر شروع به نوشتن کرد ..
می دونی شاید تنها جوری که بفهمی من هستم اینه که بنویسم ، ولی اینو بدون که همیشه هستم ...
من هم خیلی کنجکاوم بقیش رو بدونم ...

راستس در جریان بهبودی هستم
خیلی خوبه و خیلی هم خوشحالم ...

Chakameh Azimpour said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I'm so curious to read the rest. Nazy joon, did he ever go back to Iran to see his grand mother?

Anonymous said...

Hi Nazy joon,

I am a recent reader on your blog and truthfully, I have found it quite addictive! You are such a good writer and the story of this amazing young man has really intrigued me. Thank you for bringing such a nice community together via your blog and sharing your life and aspects of Iranian culture in such a profoundly sweet and creative way. I look forward to reading more as always.

Manata

Nazy said...

Leila Jan, Salam:

Welcome. Which Leila are you? Details, please!

I will tell you his name tomorrow, I think. You will be pleasantly surprised, I hope.

Nazy said...

Uni-Far Jan:

An old spammer?! Hardly, my dear! Were you sick? I'm sorry I didn't know you were sick, or I would have sent you good vibes earlier!

It is so good to hear from you, all the time. Be good and have a brilliant Valentine's Day my friend.

Nazy said...

Salam Shideh Jan:

Yes, he did go back to Iran several times. He also visited with his grandparents in Los Angeles at least once, from what I can tell of the photos.

Please stay tuned until tomorrow when I hope to publish the full story! His is an amazing story, which I hope to be able to tell in a way worthy of it.

Be good Shideh Joonam.

Nazy said...

Salam Bar Manata:

Hello and welcome! A new reader is always a pleasure to find, especially if he or she leaves a comment, too! Thank you so much for your eloquent and kind comment.

I am a very fortunate woman in having so many wonderful, intelligent, and articulate readers in my humble weblog. Mine is a labor of love for Iran, Iranians, US, and Americans and the world, hoping to bring better understanding of each other to all. If I have managed to bring you in, something must be happening in my favor, hence my fortune! Thanks again for coming. Please come back again soon.

Anonymous said...

Dear Nazy,
I am not sure if you know me but, any way, my name is Leila Mouri and my weblog is www.femirani.com

Nazy said...

Salam Leila Jan:

I'm sorry for being so informal with you! For a first visit and a first comment, I don't usually joke around with my readers like this! I got confused because several of my visitors are fellow bloggers whose names are Leila, but of course they use different blogger identities for coming to visit. Thanks for replying so patiently!

I came and visited your blogs for a few minutes. Looks really interesting! I'll come back and read some more, soon.

Thanks again for replying to my silly question. Happy Valentine's Day Leila Jan.

Anonymous said...

:)
مریض ...
شاید باشم و شاید بودم !!!

Shadi said...

wow wow I am jumping to the next post