Farah Yasmeen Shaikh is an international Kathak artist - a renowned performer, choreographer and instructor, and Founder/Director of Noorani Dance, a cultural arts non profit organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Farah is known for her evocative storytelling, technical precision, delicacy and grace, with a unique artistic voice that focuses on topics of historical and social relevance, while simultaneously maintaining the foundational elements of Kathak - a classical dance form of South Asia. Farah choreographs her own traditional and innovative works, for herself and her company, the Noorani Dance Company, and has received support and recognition for her work from the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, New England Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, San Francisco Foundation, SVCreates, San Mateo County Arts Commission and Dancers’ Group. In addition to training the next generation of Kathak artists in the U.S., Farah performs and teaches extensively in Pakistan, and has become an integral part of the artistic landscape in the country. In 2020, Farah launched the Heartistry Talk Show on Rukus Avenue Radio, welcoming guests from around the globe that are bringing a passion, compassion and commitment to what they are doing. Conversations take place with artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, activists, and more - uncovering the layers of how we are each finding a heARTistic flow. read less