Our Team
Sharlyn Sawyer - Executive/Artistic Director
A prolific dance artist, choreographer/director/arts activist Sharlyn Sawyer’s career in the performing arts spans more than 45 years. As the Artistic and Executive Director of Afsaneh Art & Culture Society – Ballet Afsaneh, a company she founded in 1986, she has choreographed and produced dozens of original works, as well as expanding traditional Central Asian dance forms for contemporary theater presentations. Her company has had a major impact on the development of Persian/Afghan/Central Asian dance and its preservation in the diaspora at a critical time in history. Describing herself as a “perpetual student of art and life” and an “Executive Director by default”, Sawyer has garnered the support of many prestigious grants and awards for the Afsaneh Art & Culture Society – Ballet Afsaneh. Working internationally, Sawyer created performances for the British Museum, and was sought out by the San Francisco philanthropic foundation, The Christensen Fund, to establish an ongoing performing arts exchange in Tajikistan. Productions in the Bay Area include world dance/music events and concerts such as the Festival of the Silk Road, and the NeekOn Festival in Golden Gate Park.
Natalie Nayun - Assistant Artistic Director & Program Director
Natalie is an international teacher and performer specializing in contemporary and folkloric styles from Central Asia and Modern Dance. She founded international online dance school Pomegranate Garden Dance featuring teachers and students from all over the world. Natalie has received numerous grants & awards to study dance and conduct research in Uzbekistan & Tajikistan. She is a passionate teacher and a lifelong student. Her hope is to share the beauty in these regions of the world through dance! Learn more about her on her website
Samia Karimi - Assistant Artistic Director
Samia Karimi is a dance artist, teaching artist and choreographer who immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan at the age of 5. Her curiosity to reconnect with her culture brought her to the Bay Area where she has been training and performing with Ballet Afsaneh since 2015, under the artistic directorship of Sharlyn Sawyer. Samia has also been studying dance and performing with Nava Dance Collective under the directorship of Miriam Peretz. She has performed at numerous private and community events as well as several Afghan music videos and is currently producing a cultural documentary with Ustad Farida Mahwash. Samia’s previous dance training and performance focused on both cabaret and tribal belly dance (2004 – 2007). Samia envisions a world where dance is celebrated as an art form everywhere and hopes to teach dance in Afghanistan one day.