Reviewed by Afsaneh Ashley Tabaddor

What does it mean to be "White" in America today?

By Mischa Geracoulis

Levantine Cultural Center in association with The Writing Studio^TM offers ongoing classes in creative writing,

He who has faith will never get lost. He who is at peace won't lose his way. —Bab'Aziz.

"Bab'Aziz" poster: your purchase in part benefits Levantine Cultural CenterWatching "Bab'Aziz" reminded me of how much I had become accustomed to Western cinematic conventions such as linear temporality and narrative structure. Akin to the dance of a whirling dervish (i.e. a Sufi Muslim ascetic), this film blends together a kaleidoscope of tales with breathtaking dreamscapes shot by celebrated Iranian photographer and cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari and an original musical score by Israeli composer Armand Amar. (The film costars Golshifteh Farahani.)

Co-written by Tunisian director Nacer Khemir, "Bab'Aziz" (2006) is the third and final installment of his "Desert Trilogy," and loosely follows the story of blind dervish, Bab'Aziz, and his granddaughter, Ishtar, as they embark on an eventful journey through the desert. Much like "A Thousand and One Nights," in which Scheherazade entertains the Prince with her tales and postpones her death by prolonging the ending until the following day, in order to keep Ishtar entertained on their search for the gathering of the Dervish that occurs once every thirty years, Bab'Aziz spins the story of a prince who one fateful day leaves his kingdom and becomes transfixed by his reflection.

Love Park: your purchase benefits in part LCC (click image to buy)
Love Park may be for the City of Brotherly Love what cult classic Confederacy of Dunces was to the Big Easy. At first glance, LOVE Park is a timeless coming of age story in which the angst-ridden protagonist struggles to find his way. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the stage for this modern day Greek tragedy, though at times it might have been the ancient Philadelphia of Asia Minor. The University of Pennsylvania and Temple University are akin to Dunces' Tulane University and the University of Louisiana, and Greek Orthodoxy rather than Catholicism explains the religious zeal and anguish.

Fictional Peter Pappas is the middle son in a Greek-American family ingrained in Old Country ways, yet vested in American pop culture. He lives with his priest father, mother and extended family-a family intent on keeping secrets in the name of tradition and sanctity. Both Peter and the plot itself straddle a ubiquitous midpoint. Details like Peter's July 4th birth date serve to accentuate the central Greek-American theme.

Novelist Orhan PamukOrhan Pamuk in conversation with Reza Aslan is a rare treat indeed for Los Angeles. Orhan Pamuk is one of Turkey's most prominent novelists. He also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Orhan Pamuk Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing. His work has sold over seven million books in more than fifty languages, making him the country's best-selling writer.

Kiyana dance, mystical whirling weekendOctober 23, Friday, 7-9 pm, Conference and Demonstration

October 24, Saturday, 6-9 pm, Training, Movements & Dancing

October 25, Sunday, 4:30-7:30 pm, Training, Movements & Dancing

Sama'a master Javad Tehranian returns for a national tour with Kiyana presentations in Los Angeles in October, teaching the Persian form of whirling or Sufi dance known as Kiyana.

Wear comfortable clothes and prepare for a three-hour intense dance and exercise workshop (Oct. 23 is a conference and presentation only).

Javad Tehranian teaches vital exercises, infinity respiration, eye exercises, and body discipline, as well as symmetric and asymmetric movements by the method of divided attention, inner development, rhythmical contemplative movements, and the  enchanting, euphoric Sama'a dance.

Kiyana, meaning “the origin”, is a system of movements and internal work coming from ancient Persia; it relates to the education and the complete development, the unity and oneness of the body, mind and spirit, cleanliness, purity, equilibrium, power, health of body, tranquility in the mind and subtility of the soul of human beings.