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Hannah Darabi's Why Don't You Dance? is set against a backdrop of turbulent events, an uncertain future, censorship and self-censorship. Amid this unstable environment replete with recurring uprisings and escalating conflict, Darabi serves as an investigator: she gathers, interprets and arranges photographs, archival materials, spoken testimony and popular music, building a critical narrative at the intersection of art and research. The book is structured by three juxtaposed figures – Mahvash, Jamileh and Mohammad Khordadian – and interspersed with portraits from Cabaret Tehran that evoke the emotional bond connecting the Iranian capital and Los Angeles. Darabi reveals how dance takes on different meanings across time and place, serving by turns as entertainment, an expression of identity and an act of civil disobedience. Iran's 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement has prompted women to speak out and express themselves through their bodies in new ways – adopting joy as a political strategy. Dance connects the diaspora, bringing together perspectives from within and from exile. Darabi's images convey a view of Iran from the outside, showing how the legacy of the past is carried into the present.

Winner of the 2025 Prix Elysée, selected by a jury of international experts, Hannah Darabi unveiled her ongoing project Why Don’t You Dance? at the Photo Elysée booth. The artist explores dance as a cultural element whose meaning can evolve according to social and political circumstances. This original project was exhibited at Photo Elysée in June 2026.

204 pages, 21 × 27.5 cm, softcover
Published by Kodoji Press
ISBN: 9783037471319