Classes starting in January.
For more information on classes click here.
Thank you to everyone who came to see Raqs Gülistsn at Acker Night. Photos will be up soon.
For more details about the performance go to
Raqs Gülistan means dancers of the rose garden. It is the name of our student performance group. The name is composed of the Arabic word Raqs (pronounced Raks) which means dance, and the Turkish word Gülistan (pronounced goolistan) which means rose garden or land of Roses. This name was chosen to represent the cultural roots of the dances we perform, coming from both the Arabic speaking nations of North Africa and The Levant, as well as both the European and Anatolian regions of Turkey. Each dancer in the group is celebrated as an individual rose in a beautiful garden.
The Gülistan of Sa'di is also the name of a book of poetry by the Persian poet Sheikh Muslih-uddin Sa'di written in 1258 CE. It is a collection of poems and stories that are still hugely influential around the world today.
"Human Beings are members of a whole
In creation of one essence and soul
If one member is inflicted with pain
Other members uneasy will remain
If you have no sympathy for human pain
The name of human you can not pertain"