In the Classical world, a profound relationship between death and love was recognized and mythologized through stories featuring Persephone and Aphrodite. These mighty goddesses of death and love face off as rivals in the myth of Adonis, then collude and collaborate in the initiation saga of "Eros and Psyche." Here, Persephone gifts Aphrodite with a mysterious substance that enhances her already potent allure—a strange aphrodisiac that embodies Persephone’s unique brand of beauty. This talk delves into the nature of Persephone's beauty, exploring it as a metaphor for the beauty conferred by death.

Join Maryam Sayyad as she unpacks the myth of the apocalypse, and the agony and ecstasy of transformative revelation.

Twilight of the Empress is a multimedia musical convergence of 3 artists and a mythologist – Banafsheh Sayyad, Fared Shafinury, Shila Ommi and Maryam Sayyad.

This theatrical production is a stage adaptation of a special short story written by a Sufi philosopher in nineteenth century Turkey. Ahmed Hilmi's "Field of Justice" is special in that it recounts a myth about Zarathustra, Hormuz, Ahriman, and an unnamed Iranian goddess through a Sufi lens, thereby bridging two of the most significant moments in Iranian thought—the Mazdaist and Sufi.

Ours is a contemporary revisioning of Hilmi's tale, set in the present and told through theater and storytelling, music and choreography. It poses questions about our ongoing obsession with the battle between light and darkness: What is this battle about? Where has it brought us? Where does it end?

Sponsored by Take Action LA for Mental Health Awareness Month 2024.

Arrival: 6pm / Doors open at 7pm

For more info visit: https://danceofoneness.org/empress/