The crowd at the YoungArts Salon. Getty Images/Aaron Davidson.

It’s hard to imagine listening to “Louie Louie” as a subversive activity or practicing Michael Jackson’s moonwalk or Rudolf Nureyev’s steps as a crime. But in 2009, under a theocratic government of the Islamic Republic of Iran that faced a critical election, these were punishable offenses. These were not mere paper laws. The Basij, a paramilitary force, was at the ready to administer the punishment — and punish it did with terrifying efficiency. RELATED LINKS

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Such is the setting of “Desert Dancer,” a film based on the true story of Afshin Ghaffarian, a young, self-taught dancer who, passionate about the art form, organized an underground dance group in Tehran. The film opens nationally Friday, April 17.

On Sunday, the seventh National YoungArts Foundation Salon, held at Ted’s, a performance lounge on the seventh floor of the organization’s headquarters in Miami, featured a screening of “Desert Dancer” followed by a conversation with its director, Richard Raymond, and producer Sarah Arison, moderated by film critic Hans Morgenstern. Michael Tilson Thomas, founder and artistic director of the New World Symphony, and  Stephanie Ansin, director of the Miami Theater Center,  were among the crowd of nearly 100 people attending the event. The YoungArts Salon series is sponsored by Knight Foundation.

“YoungArts gives emerging artists the support that they need to continue on their career education,” explained Arison, who is also a trustee of the National YoungArts Foundation, in a brief, pre-screening presentation. “So often if a young person goes home and tells his parents ‘I want to be an artist the reaction is generally, ‘Get a real job. Be a doctor. Be a lawyer.’ And there is very little support within the family, the community or the educational system to pursue any career in the arts.  … When I heard Afshin’s story it really resonated with me. Not only are these incredibly talented and passionate artists in Iran not encouraged to pursue their passion but they can be persecuted for it. I was shocked by this. I wasn’t aware that dancing was illegal in Iran and … [that] this is going on today.”

In fact, last May, a group of Iranian teenagers were arrested and later sentenced to six months in jail and 91 lashes for appearing in a video dancing to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.” The sentence, which drew international attention, was eventually suspended.

At a time Iran when is in the headlines because of the negotiations of a nuclear agreement, discussing beatings and jailings for dancing brought about a number of questions during the Q&A period that followed the screening.

“It’s about control of the population, control of the youth,” said Raymond in response to a question.  So while stressing that “this is not a political film at all; it’s about people,” he also noted that, “The film is a very simple way, a very accessible way, to get people to understand and ask more questions. When questions are asked, you realize that in fact [the situation] is very complex.”

Through several glimpses, often at once funny, touching and dramatic, “Desert Dancer” unveils another Iran, young, vibrant and open, and curious about the world. It is a country where groups of kids of both sexes—a religious taboo—meet in secret to learn about the arts, and where dance clubs thrive behind nondescript industrial metal doors.

Also, without explicitly addressing the political issues in play, the film shows the broad youth support for Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the candidate of the reformist Green Movement in the 2009 elections. When Mousavi lost what is widely believed to have been a rigged election, many took to the streets in protest. The repression was swift and brutal.

“I felt Afshin’s story was a really great example to show the humanity of the Iranian youth and how we are all the same, all youth, all artists are the same, striving for a message,” said Raymond in a brief interview before the screening.

Frieda Pinto and Reece Ritchie dancing in the climactic scene of Desert Dancer. Image courtesy Desert Dancer/Relativity Studios.  

But while “Desert Dancer” is Afshin’s story, the film’s subject, ultimately, is the power of art. 

It’s not surprising that the most moving, most stirring moments in the film are those of dancing — in the face of threats, prohibitions and certain violent punishment.

“Some of the strongest voices for change in the world come from the arts — painting, music, dance, acting, directing, writing,” said Raymond. All totalitarian regimes fear and despise art because “art, all forms of art, can be used as a communication device, as a narrative … so [they] crack down on it very hard.”

Fernando González is an arts and culture writer based in Miami.