Events > New York Events > FOR THE LOVE OF RUMI BY EMILY ALP
New Yorkers gathered in mid June to get an intimate look at a spiritual genius
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Since UNESCO declared this ‘the Year of Rumi,’ many events in his honor have sprung up around New York City. But few have been as intimate and transformative as For the Love of Rumi, a two-part event that recently took place at the Open Center in Soho. The event, a combination of a storytelling and documentary, was perhaps the most personal experience of Rumi one could get outside of strict, individual meditation on his translated works.
For the Love of Rumi spanned about two hours and began with The Way of the Heart, a carefully-constructed narrative comprising poetry, story-telling, readings and music by TAMIR and Amir Vahab, respectively. An actress, poet and playwright, TAMIR nailed every line and emphatically dotted the air of poetry and storytelling with long vowels, deep pauses and the occasional inspired shout. Speeding up, slowing down and commanding her topic, she made eye contact with her audience and confidently channeled Rumi’s message.
“We follow the highway of the heart. Not the byway of the intellect. Out of the fast lane and into the vast lane!” she exclaimed in the beginning moments of her performance.
A widely acclaimed musician of more than three decades, Vahab intermittently strummed the setar, sang in traditional Persian style and tapped a large, disk daf drum. His fingers moved across the strings as if brushing through a stream of water and his voice evoked a simple and reflective space and time in Anatolia.
Between musical interludes, TAMIR gracefully stood, danced and gestured in her robes of silken purple and colorfully airy patch-worked pants. Her precision and absolute focus in weaving the pieces of Rumi’s work and related stories accentuated the fire and mystery of the ancient messages. Through this performance, the audience traveled to deserts, meeting halls and chess games with Rumi and other luminaries of the time, like Mullah Nasrudin and Rumi’s mentor Shams-I Tabrizi.
To end the performance, TAMIR changed into a tall, deep-red cap and white robe -- what most recognized as traditional dervish clothing. For a few moments, she whirled in the front of the room to Vahab’s music and ended the performance by stopping gracefully where she had started,bowing toward the audience with her palms together.
Based on timeless and poignant allegory, The Way of the Heart turned much of today’s society on its head in a refreshing way. As an audience member, I suddenly felt like the proverbial monkey with my hand fisted up inside the mouth of a jar, and perhaps that’s what Rumi was getting at.
In part two of For the Love of Rumi, award-winning actress, writer, producer and director Tina Petrova stood up to introduce her documentary, Rumi: Turning Ecstatic, which she directed and is currently touring with as a good-will ambassador. The film depicts her encounter with Rumi, which happened in a dream during her recovery from a serious car wreck, which plunged her several thousand feet off the side of a cliff.
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The film explores the circumstances of her accident, including a dream during her recovery in which a man, who she is certain was Rumi, instructs her to have an event in his honor. She subsequently calls Coleman Barks, who agrees to read Rumi at the event she organizes. As clips of the event and Barks’ reading fade in and out, other speakers and experts on Rumi’s work help Petrova find a people of many faiths joining into their human roots and reaching for their spiritual destinations.
The film’s commentary includes sober mention of today’s conflicts. But it pulls eventual focus on the people drawn to peace and Rumi’s message – in books that currently outsell Shakespeare’s in North America.
For the Love of Rumi merged today's top talent with profound messages that have lived for hundreds of years. Stepping out on the street after such a performance felt like stepping into a more hopeful dimension of reality.
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