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Tara Catherine Pandeya
Tara Catherine Pandeya Ballet Afsaneh principle dancer and soloist since 1997, is trained in multiple dance styles; ranging from Central Asian, to Middle Eastern and Classical South Indian dance. She comes from a highly artistic family and is a second generation dancer; her mother is Barbara Framm a well respected educator & artist of the classical East Indian tradition for over 35 years.
Starting from childhood Tara studied tap, jazz, ballet, North African, Turkish, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Tajik, Afghan, Uzbek, Azeri and Persian dance forms. She has been a principle dancer and soloist with Ballet Afsaneh for 10 years. In 2002, Tara was chosen as a featured artist through the California Arts Council's 'Next Generation' Young and Upcoming Artists Grant program. In 2006, she traveled to Tajikistan where she worked with BAACS's 'Tajik Dance Initiative Humanities Link' project in the remote Pamir Mountain city of Khorog.
While in Tajikistan, she also completed an intensive two month dance residency program with Ustad Sharofat Rashidova of Padida Theater and renowned master artist of Pamiri dance Ustad Zaragol Iskandarova; one of Tara's greatest dance inspirations. Tara has traveled to India, the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe studying traditional dance and language. She holds Arabic language certificates from 'Alif', the Language Institute of Fez, Morocco and through Arabic immersion courses at U.C. Berkeley.
She also holds a teaching credential in English as a Second language. Tara is currently pursuing her B.A. in international relations and performing arts through the LEAP (Liberal Arts Education for Arts Professionals) program at St Mary's College. Most recently, Tara was featured as a soloist accompanied by world renowned Uzbek doyra musician Abbos Kosimov for the highly selective San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in 2007.
Tara is deeply committed to arts education, cultural preservation and social work. Tara has worked as an Outreach Director in the Persian, Afghan and South Asian Bay Area communities for women's advocacy through the non-profit organization Narika. Artistically, Tara has given her time to numerous non-profit organizations working in Afghan and Persian communities such as: Society of Iranian-American Professionals, The Zoroastrian Society, The Persian Center, Society of Afghan Professionals, Afghan Women's Alliance International, The Afghan Rebuilding Project; Chamber of Commerce, Afghan Widows and Orphans Foundation, Roots of Peace; De-Mining Afghanistan, the Association for the protection of Afghan Archeology.
Tara has developed close ties in the Afghan-American community through her years of performance and arts education. She is featured in the video: Afghanistan: Music of Tradition and Transition with the Fremont Symphony and Ustad Mawash. She was also selected to go on tour as a soloist with Ustad Aziz Herawi to Michigan for the Great Lakes Festival. Tara has found her niche in Central Asian dance forms; she has a great affinity for the traditions of these regions and is passionate about the education and promotion of these rich cultures through the arts. Photo credits: Robertino Regazza, Juan Carlos Pometta Betancourt and Scott Belding