Nikki Farahanchi is a legally blind Iranian American dance artist and choreographer trained in Persian dance and bellydance. Inspired by her Iranian heritage and summer travels to Iran, Nikki has been researching and nurturing the Iranian dance field since 2017. Her art and research investigate themes of female empowerment, freedom, spirituality, and resistance in Iran and the greater Arab World. In particular, Nikki’s research specializes in the politicization of Iranian dancing bodies, examining how historical, cultural, and political implications resulted in the exile of Persian dance from the public sphere of its own homeland. Rooted in historically grounded techniques and culturally representative choreographies, her performances seek to shatter widespread stereotypes and misrepresentations of Iranian and Arab dance forms. Through her artistry, she aspires to preserve and illuminate the richness of Iranian and Arab dance traditions while articulating difficult realities within the region’s sociopolitical climate. Informed by her own experience with vision loss, Nikki reimagines how performance can be experienced through methods such as enhanced audio description and is a dedicated advocate for accessibility in both performance and pedagogy.

Following her undergraduate studies, Nikki relocated to New York City, where she spent three years working full time as a Senior Assistant Buyer at Bloomingdale’s while simultaneously remaining actively engaged in the city’s dance and performance communities. During this time, she trained with and taught under master bellydancer Janelle Isis and performed at various venues, including the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. Nikki earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 2022, with a minor in Middle East Studies. As an undergraduate, she served as a creative director and choreographer for the university’s Iranian dance and Bellydance ensembles, centering representation and visibility for marginalized ethnic communities. Building on her artistic and pedagogical experience, she founded Manhattan’s first and only School of Persian Dance in 2025, creating a dedicated space for the study, preservation, and transmission of diverse Iranian dance traditions. More information about her work can be found at nikkidance.com.