Ravaan Persian Dance Company is the only Persian (Iranian) dance company in the state of Texas, and one of approximately 50 Persian dance companies worldwide. Ravaan is proud to offer Persian dance in Austin, especially considering that dance has been outlawed in the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1979 because it is deemed "un-Islamic."

For the past four years, Ravaan has performed at Central Market's Annual Nowruz event (Nowruz is the Persian New Year, which celebrates the coming of Spring), which draws over 1,000 people, making it one of Central Market's most popular events. The crowd is a mix of Iranians and non-Iranians, all coming together to celebrate Nowruz.

The Austin Awesome Foundation's grant will go towards making costumes for this year's Persian New Year performance at Central Market. Persian dance costumes are non existent in the US, and it is extremely difficult to get costumes from overseas, in part because the majority of the costumes are not produced in Iran anymore. Costumes are an integral part of creating an identity for Persian dance.