Alireza Keymanesh

Mark it on your calendar.
🗓️May 29, 2026

NCC team:
👇👇👇
Alireza Keymanesh
Janice Jo Lee
Morgan Joy
Anto Chan
Rin Abedi
Samantha Halas

I feel very fortunate to be among the actor-dancers in Sabrina Zhao’s film ‘Tarry Not, O Cloud,’ alongside Noriko Yamamoto, Karel Mallkoun, and many others.

Beyond her knowledge, Sabrina carries a uniquely poetic wisdom in filmmaking. Suffice it to say that the story of the film revolves around longing, unfolding through the journey of clouds. Watching the final film felt like an invitation to experience a collective meditation.

O cloud,
with the power to transform yourself
into any shape,
I need you to be the messenger,
to let my love know
that I am still alive.

(From the soliloquy in the film, written by Sabrina Zhao and narrated by Kuta Fudauchi)

Some works end when the shoot is over. Others remain—like clouds in the sky.
Tarry Not, O Cloud is one of those for me.

May the clouds carry freedom and peace to Iran.

‘Tarry Not, O Cloud’

Director, Producer: Sabrina Zhao
DOP:
Editor:

Voice over: Kota Fudauchi

Movement Director: Qingyang Wang
Performers: , Sabrina West, Alireza Keymanesh, , Sabrina Zhao

Teaching about teaching?!! 🤔

Alongside all the crazy things happening in the world—and my wish for freedom and the fall of the Iranian Islamic Republic Regime—I somehow found myself on a magical, supportive journey with a group of wonderfully inspiring artist-educators.

The TEACHING ART course at OCAD University with the amazing Natalie Kauffman was so informative. And yes… unexpectedly, it was actually so fun too!!

Imagine a room full of slightly chaotic, overly enthusiastic art teachers coming earlier than expected each week—talking about teaching: who’s a BAD teacher, who’s a GOOD one? Maybe the one who can make the students laugh? Hum…

But don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t just talking. It was respectfully full of listening, sharing, caring, laughing, and learning how to create more inclusive spaces — more like an ignorant teacher rather than a know it all one.

This experience was incredibly nourishing, and I know it will positively influence my upcoming contemporary dance workshop in May 2026 in Toronto. 💃

Oh, and just so you know, I’ve been juggling some other micro-credential courses at OCAD as well: Content Creation (done!) and Project Management (next on the horizon).

Huge thanks to ArtWorksTO and the Toronto Arts Foundation for giving us this opportunity to play, learn, and grow together. 🙏❤️

Down with the dictator.

Iranian Rally — Toronto

Feb 14, 2026

Freedom is something you plant, and we have its seeds too.

✌🏼🌎🕊️

Snow is falling
Snow is falling on thorns and jagged stones.
Mountains are mute,
Valleys are longing.
Roads are watching for a caravan, with its bell sounding
If no smoke had risen from the roofs of the huts,
Or if a flicker of a lamp had brought no message for us,
If footprints had not appeared on the roads, slipping—
What would we have done
in the blizzard, heart-chilling cold wind?

📖 An excerpt from the poem “Arash” by Siavash Kasraei.

برف می بارد
برف می بارد به روی خار و خاراسنگ
کوه ها خاموش 
دره ها دلتنگ
راه ها چشم انتظار کاروانی با صدای زنگ
بر نمی شد گر ز بامِ کلبه ها دودی
یا که سوسوی چراغی گر پیامی مان نمی آورد
رد پا ها گر نمی افتاد روی جاده ها   لغزان 
ما چه می کردیم در کولاک دل آشفتۀ دم سرد؟

📖 بخشی از شعر «آرش» اثر سیاوش کسرایی

📷 Photo Credit:
Dancer: Alireza Keymanesh

“Body as a Land of Protest”

With my deepest condolences to the families of all the protesters killed by the brutal Islamic regime of Iran, and with hope for Iran’s freedom as soon as possible, I am honored to announce that my docu-dance film Upside Down has won the Most Daring Award at the Moving Body Festival 2025.

With gratitude and congratulations to the entire Upside Down team, I respectfully dedicate this award to all the courageous protesters on the front lines in Iran.

Upside Down represents 47 years of suppression of the Iranian body by the authoritarian Islamic regime and sees dance as a revolutionary act against this oppression. In the film, I combined documentary footage from the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, the Green Movement, 12 years of my underground dance classes in Iran, and newly shot material created specifically for the film, using a collage technique.

The film seeks to deconstruct the conventional notion of dance films, which are often based on joy and entertainment. Instead, it presents dance as a form of resistance, sheds light on the history of oppression of the human body in Iran, and serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for freedom and human rights. The film moves forward through the mantra-like slogan “Body as a Land of Protest,” woven into the provocatively crafted acoustic–electronic music composed by the group Vessels to Motherland.

My sincere thanks go to the Moving Body Festival team. This award reminds us that we must remain strong despite the atrocities endured over the past 47 years and continue fighting for our right to freedom until the regime in Iran is changed.

To freedom.

🎥 Cast & Crew:
Director, Choreographer, Editor: Alireza Keymanesh
Dancers: Sophia Hassenstein, Alireza Keymanesh, Emily Law, and…
Music: Vessels to Motherland

🌿 Body–Mind Release Sessions 🌿

In these heavy times, many Iranians—inside and outside of Iran—are carrying deep pain, grief, and anger, with few spaces to release it. To ease that weight, even for a moment, we decided to hold BODY–MIND RELEASE sessions at Chill House. 💫

✨ What to expect:
These are inclusive sessions that integrate two dynamic body–mind release techniques—Ideokinesis and shaking—with other complementary practices drawn from contemporary dance, massage, voice exercises, writing, and storytelling. We move, shake, breathe, engage our imagination, express ourselves, and reconnect with both our own body and the community to release tension, awaken the body, and cultivate a sense of grounding.
🌍 Iranians and non-Iranians welcome — no experience needed!

📅 Starting Date: Sunday, Jan 25
⏰ Time: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Location: Chill House, 18 Mill St, Thornhill, ON L4J 8C5
📲 Register: Call or text 647-296-4959 OR DM

💡 About the techniques:
Ideokinesis: A creative approach to movement & alignment, enhancing maladaptive habits beneath the conscious mind using imagery & tactile aids.

Shaking: A psychophysical release to help your body & mind move freely, release tension, and reconnect with spontaneity & presence.

👤 Facilitator:
Alireza Keymanesh is a choreographer, somatic practitioner, actor, filmmaker, and educator based in Toronto, with over 16 years of experience in teaching contemporary dance, theatre, and body–mind techniques. Inspired by Eastern somatic practices, he has a physio-philosophical approach to dance and the human body while imagination and memory are central to his practices. Having studied with Eva Karczag, he has introduced and developed the Ideokinesis method—a creative approach to body–mind alignment—in Iran through numerous workshops and lectures, as well as by translating the Ideokinesis book by André Bernard, Wolfgang Steinmüller, and Ursula Stricker into Persian. Through a multi-modal approach, his classes are playful and healing, fostering connection, empowerment, and shared learning.

💌 Come as you are, no experience needed.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Suyker