Aliah Najmabadi

Aliah Najmabadi is committed to the preservation and development of Iranian & Central Asian performing arts. Aliah began her formal Iranian & Central Asian dance training with Sharlyn Sawyer in 1998. She is currently a principal dancer with Ballet Afsaneh and has most recently served as Interim Assistant Director.

In 2005 Aliah completed a BAACS sponsored artist residency at Padida Dance Theater in Tajikistan and returned there independently this spring of 2007 to continue her dance training with master teacher Sharofat Rashidova. Aliah is currently a participant in the Tajik Dance Initiative (TDI) and was sponsored to conduct field research in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan in 2006. She will be returning again in the Summer of 2007 to continue work with the TDI project. Aliah holds a B.A. degree in both Iranian Studies and World Arts and Cultures from UCLA and is presently pursuing a Mmus Performance degree with a focus on Central Asian Dance at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the United Kingdom.