Biography: Sashar Zarif

National Dance

Inspired by a strong artistic family background, Sashar Zarif is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Toronto, Canada. He received his formal academic training in performing arts at Azerbaijan Conservatory of Music and Dance, where he was awarded the honorary title of “Artist for People of Azerbaijan”. He continues his Fine Arts studies at York University Toronto, where he is currently a course director for a third year and a second year dance course titled “Introduction to World Dance Practices” within the dance department. Among his varied studies in dance are the Indian Classical Dance of Bharatanatyam, Uzbek, Tadjeek, Persian, Georgian, Chechen, Afghan, Middle Eastern, Turkish, Flamenco, and Lezginka dance forms.

Sashar is the founder and Artistic Director of the Canadian Joshgoon Academy of Azerbaijani Dance, and Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre since 1993. Sashar served as Director of Fine Arts of the Azeri Cultural Association of Ontario (1994-1998), where he taught classical and folkloric Azeri dance to various age groups. It was there that he began his choreographic work, which has been both performed and taught in workshops by he and his company throughout North America, Europe and Azerbaijan.

Sashar was a recipient of the Chalmers professional development grant from the Ontario Arts Council. (2003). Traveling to Azerbaijan, he undertook the gargantuan project of reconstructing a forgotten dance form, which at one time accompanied the mystical musical tradition of Azerbaijan called “Mugham“. For this undertaking, he was mentored by internationally acclaimed singer Alim Qsimov, Mugham singer of Azerbaijan and the recipient of the Unesco MIC music award (1999) . The fruit of their collaboration was an improvisational production which premiered at the Baku Opera Theatre featuring Alim Qasimov & his ensemble and Sashar together on stage. This live event received overwhelming acclaim from the Azerbaijan Artists’ community and mainstream media alike. It is scheduled to tour Europe and North America in 2005-2006.

For the past four years he has toured Europe extensively, performing and teaching master classes and holding intensive dance camps in Germany, Norway, Spain, the Czech Republic and Azerbaijan. He has collaborated with artists, companies and orchestras including Composer/Professor Pervus-Smith from the University of Wilfred Laurier in Waterloo Ontario, Dr. Ulfat Ahang of Afghanistan, Mehravarzan Classical Persian Music Ensemble, Lesya Starr Dance and Music Ensemble of Barcelona Spain, and Yasmina Ramzy, artistic director of Arabesque Dance Company. He has been featured in the films “Dance of Chardash,” “Man Azernaijanliam,” “Five Islands”, and “Rainbow”. In 2001, he founded “Dancers for Peace,” a Toronto festival of ritualistic dance now in its fourth year. In addition, he is the Founder and co-artistic director of Yashar Creative Collective (a cross disciplinary dance company) and Azeri Mirror Garden (a dance and multi media collective).

Sashar’s current areas of specialty and research include improvisation in dance, ethnomusicology, Sufi-Dervish rituals, the therapeutic nature of traditional arts, dances of the Caucuses region and Central Asia, and a reconstruction of a Persian classical dance form called “Saghi” involving music, poetry, anthropology, and their corresponding visual arts. Sashar is affiliated with Khazar International University of Azerbaijan’s Dance Program. He serves as a dance committee member at Toronto Arts Council and sits on the board of directors of Dance Ontario.