DANCER. CHOREOGRAPHER. director.
I am a British- Iranian freelance Dancer, Choreographer, Movement Director and Director. Trained in ballet, contemporary and classical Persian dance, I have performed and taught at theatres, festivals and events across the UK and Europe for the past 14 years. I trained at Alonzo King Lines Ballet, ODC Dance Commons & The Place. I now work across dance and theatre, having spent the last 6 years working on theatrical productions alongside dance. I am a Lead Facilitator on Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Our Space programme & a company dancer for Swift Dance Company, Ballet Afsaneh and Salaam Salaam Theatre.
A 2nd generation immigrant to the UK, I have worked extensively with refugees and asylumseekers and fully believe in the power of the arts to transform and empower people and places. I teach movement and dance workshops to refugees and asylum seekers across the UK.
Recent movement director credits include the Olivier nominated, Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of ENGLISH - a pulitzer prize winning play by Sanaz Toosi. I am currently choreographing Exeter Northcott’s production of Romeo and Juliet.
I have a specialism in classical Persian dance, having trained with Ballet Afsaneh and Farima Berenji, a Sufi Master from Simorgh Dance Collective.
I founded Company SHEherazade to tell stories of the diaspora through dance performances, installations and experiences and to enable refugees and asylum seekers to experience the joy of movement. Company SHE brings a new perspective to the portrayal of displacement. CROWN is CS’s flagship production, over three years in the making.
Based in Devon, I am a Co-Director of NDP Circus - working with theatre, circus, and dance - combining site-specific workshops, residencies, and performances at heritage sites across the UK & Europe.
Overall credits and partners include the Hay Festival, the Brit Awards, RSC, Shakespeare’s Globe, Strike a Light, Kala Sangam, Migration Matters and Counterpoints Arts. I have performed at venues such as Richmix, the 02 arena, and The Vaults.
I hold an MA from SOAS in Middle Eastern Studies and speak French, Spanish and Farsi.