Parya

Parya is a graduate student in the MFA in Dance: Creative Practice program at Saint Mary's College of California. She is also Associate Professor of Medicine at a top ranking Bay Area university where she conducts clinical and behavioral HIV research. Parya began her love affair with dance at a young age while studying Persian dance in Iran and later trained in New York Style Salsa and belly dancing. She is currently an instructor at the Salimpour School of Dance and a member of the Suhaila Dance Company. Her dance research and interests include the restriction of movement for female dancers in Iran and cultural appropriation in dance.