dance

movement is medicine

1995-2010: i was raised and trained in Iranian Folk Dance which includes movement from diverse ethnic groups such as the Kurdish, Balooch, Mazandarani, Gilak, Azari peoples.

2010-2014: i co-taught Iranian Folk Dance at our local Iranian Saturday school and choreographed pieces for young dancers ranging from 7 to 18 years old.

meanwhile, i continued to choreograph and perform myself at cultural events such as the University of Maryland’s Iranian Student Foundation.

i expanded my dance training to include brief additional studies of: Ballet, West African dance, and Chinese classical dance forms.

2018: i began practicing Raqs Sharqi — commonly known as Belly Dance. this often misunderstood art form continues to teach me wonders about my anatomy and capacity to digest music.

2020: i incorporated dance and choreographic tools into my arts-based PhD project showcase called “how we wear water.” movement supported the following pieces:

• water 101: an interactive way to learn about the water molecule’s types of bonds

• if a test strip could talk: draw parallels between water quality and societal quality harnessing both scientific and subjective knowledge

• #change: embody the four phases of water

• a walk with her wisdom: an ode those who carry us in their water wombs