More than 40 students from the Iranian Student Group at UCLA are participating in the sixth annual cultural show on Thursday and Friday to show a side of Iran that is different from what is shown in the media.
The show, “Hoviate Man: My Identity,” consists of various cultural performances, such as dances from different regions of Iran and a performance by a musical ensemble with traditional Persian instruments and poetry.
The purpose of the show, according to Iranian Student Group cultural chair Ayda Haghighatgoo, is to display a side of Iran and Iranian culture that is different from what is portrayed in the media.
“There’s a big difference between the government and the actual country, the history behind it and the people of Iran. Those are the aspects we want to highlight in the show,” Haghighatgoo said. “The cultural show is more about the country itself and the people and culture we have, instead of what we see in the media.”
For that reason, the show is trying to avoid any political themes.
“Iranian Student Group is a nonpolitical and nonreligious organization. … Within Iran there are many different political and religious groups, and we wouldn’t want to affiliate with one group and not the other,” Haghighatgoo said.
Instead, the show focuses on cultural and educational themes. Beeta Baghoolizadeh, publicity and outreach chair of the Iranian Student Group, said part of the show’s aim is to illustrate the urban daily lives that youths in Iran experience.
“The scenario takes place in Iran. … It focuses on urban life in Iran and the raising up of youths in Iran,” Baghoolizadeh said.
Saghi Esfandiarifard, scriptwriter and choreographer of the show, said the group is trying to show the perspective of the citizens in Iran as opposed to the government or the politics.
“We want to introduce the people of Iran, to show the face of the average citizen of Iran,” Esfandiarifard said. “Because this is what we know and love, and that’s what we’d love to represent Iran.”
She added that the diversity of Iranian culture and society is also one important theme in the show.
“We want to show that Iran is like a melting pot of different cultures, just like America. In Iran, there are people from Turkey and Armenia with many different cultural backgrounds. There are many different religious and national groups,” Esfandiarifard said.
The show also explores the relationship between native Iranians and Iranian Americans, as well as the identity of people of Iranian heritage who are raised in other countries.
“It is important for us Iranians to show the campus who we are,” Baghoolizadeh said. “As Iranian Americans, we’d like to embrace American identity, but we would like to represent ourselves as Iranians as well.”
Esfandiarifard said a big part of the show is for the children of Iranian immigrants to learn about their culture.
“It is important to learn where you came from even if you grew up in another country, to learn about the culture where your parents were born, to integrate that culture with the culture where they are raised and find a happy balance between the two,” Esfandiarifard said.