ODC Theater Presents This is Also the Art with Sima Belmar

Sima Belmar is the ODC Writer in Residence and host of the podcast Dance Cast. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a PhD in Performance Studies from UC Berkeley where she teaches writing in the Department of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies. Sima writes the In Practice column for In Dance, a publication of Dancers’ Group, and was a dance critic for the San Francisco Bay Guardian from 1997-2003. Her writing has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, The Oakland Tribune, Dance Magazine, TDR, Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices, Performance Matters, Contemporary Theatre Review, and The Oxford Handbook of Screendance Studies.

Farah Yasmeen Shaikh is an internationally acclaimed Kathak performer, choreographer, and instructor, and Founder & Artistic Director of Noorani Dance, with two decades of training from the late Pandit Chitresh Das. Farah performs her own traditional and innovative works, most notably, The Forgotten Empress and The Partition Project. A TEDx speaker, and host of the podcast, Heartistry Talk Show, Farah has received support and recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, New England Foundation for the Arts, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, California Arts Council, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, SVCreates, and Dancers’ Group. In addition to training students of Noorani Dance, Farah’s teaching experience includes ODC School and Along King LINES Ballet in San Francisco, India Community Center in the Silicon Valley, and various academic and arts institutions throughout the U.S. She has been a guest choreographer for the World Dance Program at Alvin Ailey Extension in New York City, a consulting choreographer for the theatrical adaptation of Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, and the lead choreographer for I’ll Meet You There, a feature length film directed by Pakistani American filmmaker, Iram Parveen Bilal. Since 2015, Farah has been performing and teaching throughout Pakistan, engaging in meaningful exchanges with artists, organizations, students, and art-lovers.

IG: @farahyasmeenshaikh
FB: @farahyasmeenshaikh

nooranidance.com