...A few pix from the evening:

Tony Khalife, Necar Zadegan and Shila Vosough, with Miles Jay on bass......dancing in the spirit of Rumi......with Matthew Huffshui on percussion......the Valentine crew with dancer Joan Terry and......enjoying the music and poetry at Mimoda Studio...

“My Rumi Valentine”

A mystical romantic evening of world music and dance, poetry, flowers, aphrodisiacs...with guest artists Necar Zadegan and Shila Vosough, presented by Tony Khalife.

a romantic journey...: Rumi art by Lisa Dietrich, visit lisadietrich.comMore than 800 years after his passing, Jalal ad-Din Rumi is perhaps the most beloved poet today, a perennial inspiration for millions and a Sufi master. “My Rumi Valentine” features Tony Khalife’s fusion of Arab-Indian-Persian-Turkish and western sounds. "My Rumi Valentine" will be an utterly unique experience with its poetic invocations, wine, chocolate, tea, dance, aphrodisiacs, fragrance allure, journey of the senses and more…

Come bring your Valentine or meet someone new...

Listen to the music online.

Tony Khalife: Master of Ceremonies, tabla, guitar, vocals. Necar Zadegan, poetry. Dani Marie, harmonium. Daniel Eshoo, saz. Aaron Van Alstein, bass. Matthew Hufshui, percussion. Joan Terry, belly dance. Dawn Cartwright, tantrika, plus special guests…

Cosponsored by Casa Barranca Wines, Essential Living Foods, Mimoda Studio & Theatre and Zhena’s Gypsy Tea

$30 advance purchase, $35 at the door. It is suggested to bring your own wine glass.

About Tony Khalife

Tony Khalife at home in OjaiHis music—a soulful blend of Middle Eastern, flamenco and Indian folk/world styles—grew out of his Lebanese upbringing, his travels and the new life he carved for himself in Southern California. Raised in Beirut during the civil war that raged there 1975-1991, Khalife is a musician, singer, songwriter, composer, yogi, artist, teacher, child-soldier, messenger of love and peace. His mission is to raise the world’s vibration through music—to be the rose growing among the ruins, the smile through the tears, and the melody of peace overpowering the guns of war.

He blends a lifelong search for musical truth into all forms of world music, striving to create a seamless flow in which the drone and ragas of Indian music meet the Western harmonies, the resonance of the devotional Sufi dances flows into the different pulses, melodies and accents of all the forms of music he has mastered—Indian, Middle-Eastern, flamenco and rock’ n’ roll—in a whirl of contrasting time signatures, from the needle-like 7/4 spiral and cyclical time of eastern music to the 4/4 of western rhythmic drive.

With his latest release, “Transcendence,” Khalife mixes languages, rhythms and styles, inventing new forms of musical expression to release the truth within him, a truly alternative world dance Arabesque masterpiece.

About Necar Zadegan

Necar ZadeganNecar Zadegan has been working professionally as an actress since she was 16 here in the States and abroad. She attended UCSB on a performance scholarship and graduated with degrees in literature and writing. She has since been traveling the world on a theatrical tour with Workshop 79 thru 3 continents performing the Farsi language show "Az Mahvareh Bah Eshgh" and spent the last two years doing work for television on shows like "Nip/Tuck," "The Unit," "NCIS," "How I Met Your Mother," "The Shield,"Big Shots," "General Hospital" and "Lost." Her most recent films hit theatres this year in the Adam Sandler flick "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" as well as the festival piece "The Touch" which was accepted in over 30 festivals worldwide. She was nominated this year for an LA Weekly Award for her work in the Boston Court production of Gilgamesh and recently closed her one-Amazon-woman show at the Powerhouse Theater in Santa Monica. She is an American of Iranian heritage.

Shila VosoughShila Vosough immigrated to the U.S. just before the Iranian diaspora caused by the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and began acting on stage at the age of 15. She is a six year member of the theatrical company, Workshop 79, and has appeared in the Farsi-spoken plays Az Mahvareh Ba Eshgh, and Farar-e Bozorg, both written and directed by the famed playwright and satirist Houshang Touzie. Her film credits include Starwatch, Charlie Wilson’s War, Love Francesca, and Liberation, in which she plays Farah Diba Pahlavi. She is a voice over artist and has lent her voice to Rosetta Stone (Farsi), Johnson & Johnson’s products and instructional videos, various medical and pharmaceutical training videos, and the cartoons Babak and Friends and Mixed Nuts. She was the Emcee and Stand-up comedienne for the Solh Festival (Festival of Peace) produced by Beyond Persia in San Francisco. She is a student and lover of Jalal’udin Molana (Rumi), and is delighted to join Necar Zadegan for this very special Valentines Day celebration of Love.