Meeting Our amazing
Dancers
Dance is poetry, it describes a feeling, a
story, and every story describes the ecstatic relationship
to beauty, love and divinity. The subtle movements of the fingers, the facial expression, and the mystic turning characterized in Persian dance are a communication between body and soul. As an audience you must follow the story, you must fall into dance the way a reader falls into a book.
Choreographers
Fereshteh Zakery
Fereshteh Zakery, established Fame Art Group in 2014 upon immigrating to Canada, aiming to unite communities through the art of dance. Fereshteh, a skilled dance instructor, choreographer, performer, and certified yoga instructor, discovered her passion for dance redirected from a decade-long pursuit of gymnastics at the age of four. Her dedication to promoting physical and mental well-being aligns seamlessly with her mission to foster unity and self-expression within communities. Fereshteh's expertise spans various dance styles, blending Iranian Folklore, Adult Ballet, Persian Modern Dance, and SAMA, creating a unique fusion of Iranian dance moves with the spiritual essence of Sama, utilizing Iranian poetry, traditional instruments, and symbolic attire. Her commitment to excellence extends beyond dance, evidenced by her roles on cultural center boards and advisory committees, highlighting her dedication to promoting multiculturalism.
Behrang Ferdosizdeh
Behrang Ferdosizdeh is a choreographer and performer of Azerbaijani dance. He was born in Tehran with an Azerbaijani background and has been living in Vancouver for more than 13 years. Currently, he works at the maintenance YVR base of Air Canada as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (M). For the past 10+ years, he has been learning and perfecting the art of Azerbaijani dance, immersing himself in its rich cultural heritage and mastering the intricate movements that reflect the beauty and grace of this traditional form. Moreover, he has been actively involved in teaching his knowledge of the dance to many of the Fame Art Group dance members and choreographing captivating performances to showcase the essence of Azerbaijani dance. His future goal is to inspire a new generation of passionate and skilled dancers by performing on many more stages within the community.
Meet Our Team of Exceptional Dancers
Fereshteh Zakery
Fereshteh Zakery, established Fame Art Group in 2014 upon immigrating to Canada, aiming to unite communities through the art of dance. Fereshteh, a skilled dance instructor, choreographer, performer, and certified yoga instructor, discovered her passion for dance redirected from a decade-long pursuit of gymnastics at the age of four. Her dedication to promoting physical and mental well-being aligns seamlessly with her mission to foster unity and self-expression within communities. Fereshteh's expertise spans various dance styles, blending Iranian Folklore, Adult Ballet, Persian Modern Dance, and SAMA, creating a unique fusion of Iranian dance moves with the spiritual essence of Sama, utilizing Iranian poetry, traditional instruments, and symbolic attire. Her commitment to excellence extends beyond dance, evidenced by her roles on cultural center boards and advisory committees, highlighting her dedication to promoting multiculturalism.
Behrang Ferdosizdeh
Behrang Ferdosizdeh is a choreographer and performer of Azerbaijani dance. He was born in Tehran with an Azerbaijani background and has been living in Vancouver for more than 13 years. Currently, he works at the maintenance YVR base of Air Canada as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (M). For the past 10+ years, he has been learning and perfecting the art of Azerbaijani dance, immersing himself in its rich cultural heritage and mastering the intricate movements that reflect the beauty and grace of this traditional form. Moreover, he has been actively involved in teaching his knowledge of the dance to many of the Fame Art Group dance members and choreographing captivating performances to showcase the essence of Azerbaijani dance. His future goal is to inspire a new generation of passionate and skilled dancers by performing on many more stages within the community.
Leila Henare
Leila Henare is a Kurdish dance enthusiast born in Tabriz but with roots in Orumie. Having embarked on a journey from Iran at the age of 15, she’s traversed Sweden and Germany, finding her home in Vancouver in 2007. Passionate by nature, Leila has dedicated 8 years to professional dance with the Fame Art Group, delivering captivating performances at various events. With a computer web background acquired in Germany, she’s now a medical office manager and a personal trainer, guiding others toward a healthy lifestyle and achieving their goals. Her love for dance and movements is grounded in preserving originality, with a goal to keep the art form alive for the next generation.
Melina Mozafari
Melina Mozafari, a choreographer and performer, emerged from a diverse background of athletic pursuits before discovering her true calling in the world of dance. Melina's journey began with experimenting with various sports in pursuit of finding her passion. When Melina joined gymnastics and ballet, her passion for dance began. The world of expression through movement was captivating to her, leading her to also learn about contemporary dance and hip-hop. She was able to settle into a dance group that fit her talent and passion. She became a member of the Fame Art Dance Group, instructed by Fereshteh Zakeri since she was 14 years old. She continues to explore other styles of Folk dancing. Melina's dance journey hasn’t been easy but it has been enjoyable. She experienced physical health setbacks regarding her spine throughout the years but was determined to persevere to pursue her passion. She strives to learn, teach, and share different styles of dance.
Dorsa Davoodabadi
Dorsa Davoodabadi embarked on her dance journey in 2014 upon her immigration to Canada to stay connected with her cultural roots. She started learning Persian folk dances and contemporary dances under the guidance of different private instructors until 2018, when she joined the Fame Art Dance group, originally starting to learn and choreograph Sama and Contemporary classic dances, followed by the Azerbaijani dance of Iran. Alongside dancing, she enjoys music and studies sciences at Simon Fraser University.
Fariba Kian
Fariba Kian joined Fame Art Group about 6 years ago. She had some musical and theatrical experiences from high school and after meeting her mentor and best friend Fereshteh Zakeri she decided to follow her passion. She believes dancing stimulates different brain activities at the same time, including emotional and musical. This increases the way your brain functions in a positive way. So dancing is a fun activity with a wealth of health benefits that keeps us in shape, makes us feel good, and makes us smarter. It’s also a good workout. In addition, dance is a way to relieve daily stresses and bring happiness to those who embrace it. With dancing you escape from reality; you can lose yourself in the music & movement. Dance is as universal a language as music, allowing you to communicate with people from different languages and nationalities.</p> <p>Fariba has been involved in many performances like Sokhane Eshgh, Yalda Night Festival, Persian Poetry In Motion, International Women’s Day and Persian New Year (Norouz). She concludes that a healthy lifestyle integrates the relationship between the mind, body, and soul, and dance possesses all of these characteristics.
Aida Issari
Aida Issari, a dancer and choreographer residing in Vancouver, British Columbia since 2015, was born in 1991 in Tehran with an enduring passion for ballet and classical traditional Persian dance. With over 8 years of professional practice in various dance styles, Aida has showcased her talents in performances with Group Shiftegan Del at the Vahdat Center of Art in Iran. Aida holds certifications as a NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) Certified Personal Trainer and an ACE (American Council on Exercise) Certified Group Fitness Instructor. She is working as a Personal trainer and group fitness Instructor with North Vancouver Community and Cultural Centre, Modo Yoga, and Fitness World Notably, her expertise in teaching barre fitness has led her to conduct over 336 classes in North Vancouver only in the past year. In addition to her solo endeavours, Aida is honoured to be a part of the Fame Art Group, where she collaborates with fellow artists to create meaningful and inspiring performances.
Elika Fallahi
Elika Fallahi, a skilled practitioner of folk dances, hails from a family deeply entrenched in the arts. Born into this creative milieu, she has honed her craft since 2016, captivating audiences in Tehran, Montreal, and Vancouver with her dynamic performances. Beyond the stage, Elika enriches lives as a personal trainer in the Health and Fitness Department at the West Vancouver Community Center. Since 2021, she has also been a key member of the prestigious Fame Art Group. With a vision that transcends borders, Elika aspires to showcase her unique dance performances on international stages.
Parto Tavassoli
Parto Tavassoli is a passionate performer of Azerbaijani dance, born in Tehran. Since 2018, she has been actively engaged in the art of Azerbaijani dance. With a rich background, she has performed with a well-known and large local dance group in Iran and has also shared her expertise by teaching Azerbaijani dance. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Business at Simon Fraser University, Parto integrates her academic pursuits with her endless love for folk dance. To her, dancing is the language of love, and she remains deeply motivated to introduce the beauty of Azerbaijani dance to the world.
Ronak Hakimzadeh
Ronak Hakimzadeh is from Iran. She is of both Turkish and Kurdish origin and she strongly values her cultural traditions. Ronak is passionate about and committed to helping people. She is a connector who loves to bring people together. In and out of her professional life, she is always finding herself in the middle of planning fun and memorable events for the people around her. That's why professional event planning is right up her alley. She specializes in personalizing diverse events for each client and handling stressful event situations with grace.
Roxana Khalili
