Persian & Central Asian Dance Intensive with Tara and Natalie | April 19 & 20

Workshop descriptions: Coming soon!

About Tara Pandeya: Tara Catherine Pandeya is a second-generation dancer, cultural activist, choreographer, scholar and bridge-building artist, dedicated to the promotion of dance from the Central Asian Silk Road region. She uses embodiment practices through dance as a healing tool to empower. Tara’s work aims to support a rebalancing of our written historical record by privileging ephemeral knowledge (dance, kinesthetic and the oral) to provide a more direct, accessible, and inclusive way of knowledge sharing inclusive of marginalized groups and matrilineal storytelling. She creates dance works which evoke beauty, magical surrealism and wonder, inviting curiosity and a questioning of social norms through art.

About Natalie Nayun: Natalie is an international teacher and performer specializing in contemporary and folkloric styles from Central Asia and the Middle East. She holds a degree in Modern Dance from UC Berkeley and is a Certified Franklin Method Teacher and Comprehensive Pilates instructor. Natalie is the artistic director of Ballet Afsaneh and founder of Pomegranate Garden Dance, an International online dance school featuring teachers and students from around the world. Her expertise includes Persian, Afghan, Tajik, and Uzbek dance, among other styles. An anatomy enthusiast, Natalie’s deep understanding of the human body enhances her teaching, helping her students achieve greater awareness and proficiency through a deeper understanding of their own bodies.  Natalie has received numerous grants and awards to study dance and conduct research in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. She is a passionate teacher and a lifelong student, dedicated to sharing the beauty of these regions through dance.