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Shahrzad Khorsandi - Artistic Director
Shahrzad
has been involved in Persian dance since childhood. She studied Dance and Performance Art at California Institute of the Arts, has a BA in Dance, and an MA in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University. Shahrzad, also known as Shazzy, has combined her formal training in dance with her intuitive understanding of Persian aesthetics, to develop a formal structure for teaching classical Persian dance. In 1996 she founded Shahrzad Dance Academy, a non-profit organization through which she trains students in Persian dance, and Shahrzad Dance Ensemble, the company performers. The ensemble performs throughout the Bay Area in various venues, in addition to conducting workshops and lecture-demonstrations at schools and libraries. |
| Kim Ganassin-Mendes is a Bay Area native and graduate of John F. Kennedy University. After a long break from dancing and performing Jazz and Tap as a teenager, she attended an SDA class and fell in love with the beauty and sensuality of Persian dance. She has been associated with SDA since 1997 and, through the years, has been a student, performer, and teacher. Dance, as a physical and mental discipline, is her favorite method of self-discovery and –healing, and she enjoys the journey whole-heartedly! Kim also interprets and teaches American Sign Language for teenagers with special needs at a local high school. |
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Rebekah Fessenden is a native of the Bay Area, with a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of California in Santa Cruz. Her 15 years of dance experience has been diverse, beginning with tap dancing then spanning from African, to samba, salsa and jazz. However modern dance and ballet have always been in the foreground of Ms. Fessenden's dance history. For the past 5 years the stable foundation beneath all of Ms. Fessenden's dancing and her life in general has been her practice of Iyengar yoga. Recently exposed to its classical lines and sensual rhythms Ms. Fessenden quickly fell in love with Persian dance, which she now teaches at Shahrzad Dance Academy in Berkeley. |
| Toni Silver started dancing when she was a child in LA, discovering the joys of jazz dance class at the Buddy Ebsen dance school. Years later, she studied dance at Merritt College, then went on to transfer to the fantastic Dance Department at U. C. Berkeley. Toni performed with Mobius Dance Company, Henry, Harris and Green, and with the international jazz touring group The San Francisco Tremors. She was one of the featured choreographers in the New Choreographers Series at the Margaret Jenkins Dance Studio in 1979. In 1980 Toni combined her love of dance with an interest in fitness and has enjoyed 20 years of teaching aerobics and dance in the bay area. She is a also a Personal Trainer. After a long hiatus from performing, Toni has happily joined SDA and is learning and loving the beauty of Persian Dance. |
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| Cera Byer has been studying dance, music, and theater since the age of 4. She is currently pursuing her interests in world dance and anthropology with a BA in Dance Ethnology at San Francisco State University. Her dance experience includes Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Afro-Haitian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, Kathak of India, Dunham Technique, Salsa, Samba, and Tribal Bellydance (and of course, most recently, Persian!) Cera is thrilled to be performing with Shahrzad Dance Academy. |
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