The Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran was not only an immense political turning point, but it also caused considerable changes in the Iranian arts and media. While many aspects of music and dance performances are not shown on Iranian national television (IRIB), television puppets and puppeteers enjoy more freedom in such performances, even crossing some boundaries. This research focuses on musical performances by post-revolutionary Iranian television puppets and puppeteers and how they deal with the problem of music and music-making in the country. It documents and analyses the acoustic and visual performance elements – including music and dance performance, as well as voice and movement techniques – as performed in contemporary television puppetry.

Pending publications

“Suffering bodies, relieved souls, An Exploration of laṭmiyeh, a Shia Islamic Vocal Genre by the Arab Women in Southwestern Iran”. In: Körper\lichkeit als kompositorische Kategorie in der Neuen Musik. Nadine Scharfetter & Thomas Wozonig (Eds.). Transcript Verlag Bielefeld.

“Sonic Gendering of Ritual Spaces”. In: Religious Sounds: Beyond the Global North: Sense, Media, and Power. Carola E. Lorea & Rosalind I.J. Hackett (Eds.). Amsterdam University Press, Global Asia Series, co-authored with Sarah Weiss.

“Female Leadership in Iranian-Arab Shia Rituals from Khorramshahr, Southwestern Iran”. In Female Leadership in Music. Linda Cimardi and Iva Nenić (Eds.). Transcript Verlag.