Repertoire
Natalie’s main repertoire, with videos and photos. Not every style she performs is listed here, so get in touch if you’re curious about a different style.
Natalie performs both modern and folkloric styles of Persian and Iranian dance, including Neoclassical Persian dance, Qajar style, Qassemabadi, Bandari and Qashqai. Her main teachers include Robyn Friend, Miriam Peretz, Medea Mohdavi, Helia Bandeh, Shahrzad Khorsandi and Sharlyn Sawyer.
Afghan dance is an upbeat and joyful style with colorful dresses. Styles include Attan, now known as the national dance of Afghanistan, and Logari, a dance with abrupt stops.
Natalie performs many styles of Tajik dance, including Kulobi, Shashmaqam and Badakhshan/Pamiri dance. She has traveled to Tajikistan to study dance extensively and was awarded grants to conduct dance ethnology research there in 2015 and 2018.
Natalie performs different styles of Uzbek dance, including Khorezm, Bukharan, Andijon Polka and Ferghana. She continues her study of this beautiful and technical dance through regular travel to Uzbekistan.
Trained in modern and contemporary dance at UC Berkeley, ODC and Shawl-Anderson, Natalie creates contemporary work rooted in Central Asian and Persian movement, and danced fusion with Beats Antique from 2009 to 2013. Her choreography, such as Taking Space | Making Place, explores space, separation and togetherness.
Also performing: Whirling Sufi dance · Moroccan Shikhat · Baluchi · Azeri
Natalie Nayun