Workshop Self-Uncensored by Mohammad Abbasi [Censor and Secret: The Moving Potential of the Unexpressed]

Mohammad Abbasi

Mohammad Abbasi (born 1977 in Shiraz/Iran) is an actor, dancer, choreographer, video artist, and festival director whose work explores the intersections of performance, activism, and embodied research.

He studied theatre directing at the University of Tehran, where he also performed in several productions with the Mehr Theatre Group. Abbasi created his first choreographic work, Recall Your Birthday, in 2003 at the Fadjr Festival. From 2008 to 2010, He studied contemporary dance at the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine in Angers, France.

After returning to Iran, he founded the Invisible Centre of Contemporary Dance in Tehran, supporting independent dance in a context where the art form remains largely unofficial. In 2011, he launched the UNTIMELY Solo Dance Festival, which showcased works by emerging Iranian choreographers alongside international productions from Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Zurich.

Since 2008, Abbasi has also been active as a dance filmmaker. His film I AM MY MOTHER has been screened internationally and has received multiple awards.

As an educator, Abbasi has led more than 150 workshops across Iran and Europe, teaching in cities such as Tehran, Shiraz, Sanandaj, Hashtgerd, Marvdasht, Munich, Leuven, Berlin, Geneva, and Izmir.

His work is often politically charged, addressing cultural restrictions surrounding dance in Iran and using artistic activism to question and challenge systems of authority.