Kimia Sagarchi (Assisting Instructor)

Kimia has seen it all! She is one of our best instructors and herself a great and naturally gifted dancer. She has been dancing since age 5 at NDA. She is currently a student at West Valley College working toward her GEs and hopes to eventually transfer to Santa Clara University to attend their Law Program. She is now a legal assistant at a Law office, and is also apart of an internship for a very prestigious Law Firm in San Jose, CA. Her favorite music is of course Persian, but as she says, "I actually love all kinds of music, anything that I can dance to!"Her favorite Iranian music is " Upbeat persian songs that you can choreagraph good moves to, or ones that you can "gher" to at an Iranian gathering!" Her favorite Iranian dance style is Bandari, "It's so exciting and energetic, you can't sit down and watch it without wanting to get on the dance floor!"

What makes NDA such a specal experience for Kimia? " NDA is more than just a dance studio that we teach at, we are truly like a family. Every class we teach is so much fun because of our closeness with each other and with our students. I have so much fun teaching with Niosha and the instructors, it's like our place to get away from the stress of work and school and just dance like there is no tomorrow!" Kimia's favorite dish? Salad Olovieh, "it's so yummy!?

Kimia, Mohammadi (Assisting Instructor)

I attend De Anza College studying Psychology and Acting and hopefully in will transfer to Loyola Marymount University or USC. I want to eventually get my PhD in Psychology but my main goal in life is to become an actress/singer/dancer..otherwise known as a triple threat.

I began dancing jazz, tap, and ballet at the age of 3 and joined NDA when i was 8 years old. Other than dancing I play many musical instruments such as piano, tombak, daf, kanoon which helps in dancing because I become familiar with the beat of each song so it ismuch easier to stay on beat and to find the rhythm.

I have a black belt in tae kwon do so watch out!

Dancing has always been a part of my life and I don't know what I would without it. Whenever I am stressed or have had a bad day I just put on a song and do whatever my body tells me to do. My favorite dancing style is Arabi (belly dancing) because I love how you can isolate the different parts of your body. Another dancing style that I truly love is hip hop, I think it is very important to incorporate different styles and techniques into traditional Persian dance so young kids and teens will be intrigued. I have never taken a hip hop class but it seems to run in my blood. Another dance style I adore is Salsa because you have to pay attention to the beats and how to dance on that beat.

Being a teacher at NDA has taught me to be independent by running my own class, and how to transition myself from having a bad day to going to class and smiling like nothing has happened!

Elhum Rakhshanifar (Assisting Instructor)

Elhum is the youngest instructor at NDA and has been dancing since age 7 at NDA and is a complete product of our instructional technique.

Her favorite dance style is the "Gheri" style and the Lezgy style "because its fast/upbeat, fun and an attention getter!"

Elhums favorite thing about teaching at NDA is " that I experience situations with all different ages from ages 4 to 50. I love teaching the little kids and making dance fun for them and I love teaching students older than me because its a new experience and it's fun to learn how to work with different age levels". elhum's favorite Iranian dish is sholoh khabob.

Shadee Amirkiai (Assisting Instructor)

Shadee began her dance career at NDA when she was just 6 years old!

Shadee has become one of our top instructors. Shadees duties at NDA are to teach classes on Thursdays and Sundays, as well as work on her own group choreography, developing her own creative dances for upcoming academy performances.

Of course her favorite music is Persian music, but she also likes Modern/Pop, "because it mixes traditional Persian music with some latin, techno, or American spice," But her real favorite is Bandari "because it is really energetic and lots of fun!"

Shadees is attending UCDavis and study pre-med. Her favorite thing about teaching at NDA is "The relationships formed with students and fellow teachers, and the amazing learning experiences we face together everyday." Shadees favorite Iranian food? Ghorme Sabzi!

Sepeedeh is one of our top instructors. She has been dancing since age 7.

Sepeedeh is a student at San Francisco State University and is a Biology major. Her duties at NDA are instruction as well as original and traditional choreography.

Sepeedeh enjoys all types of music including Hip Hop, Persian, and Arabian, or as she says, "Whatever sounds good!" Sepeedeh also enjoys traditional Persian music, because of all the amazing instruments incorporated in it. Her favorite dance though is the Bandari dance, "Because the music is so upbeat, and it's a very high energy dance."

Her long term goal as she says, "After I graduate from SFSU I hope to transfer to UCSf for medical school. I have always wanted to become a doctor, and working with children at NDA has lead me to pediactrics." Her favorite part of being an instructor at NDA? "Well of course being able to dance all the time! But I really enjoy the connection I make with my students, and the interaction with the parents." Sepeedeh's favorite Iranian food is Lubia Polo!