Ali Pourfarraokh
Dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and ballet director of Kurdish origin, Pourfarrokh is considered one of the most successful Iranian ballet artists of pre-revolutionary Iran. He joined the National Ballet Academy of Iran in Tehran from its inception in his late teens, where he quickly demonstrated promising talent.
Early Training and International Studies
Trained by William Dollar and Ivonne Patterson, he was encouraged to pursue his ballet studies abroad. Following Dollar and Patterson, he moved to the United States in 1958 as a scholarship student at the ABT School of Dance and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School in New York. There, he trained with renowned masters of classical ballet, including Margaret Craske, Vera Volkova, Stanley Williams, Valentina Pereyaslavic, Anthony Tudor, and George Balanchine. He also received training in modern dance at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
Professional Career and Artistic Directorships
His professional dance career began as a corps de ballet dancer with the Alicia Alonso West Coast Ballet Company and American Ballet Theatre (1959-1964). As a principal dancer, he performed with Harkness Ballet, Robert Joffrey Ballet, and Frankfurt Opera Ballet (1964-1971). Following a successful career as a leading male dancer, he became Associate Artistic Director and Ballet Master of Alvin Ailey's American Dance Theater Company (1972-1976). He was appointed Artistic Director of the Iranian National Ballet in 1976 and directed the company until 1979. After the company disbanded and he left Iran, he worked as a freelance choreographer and teacher in New York City, creating new works and staging classics for companies throughout the United States, including Colorado Concert Ballet in Denver, Colorado, and New Jersey Ballet in New Jersey (1979-1981). He was engaged as co-director and resident choreographer at the Essener Opera Ballet in West Germany, creating contemporary works and choreographing for numerous opera productions (1981-1984). The company presented his versions of Nutcracker and other classics, as well as a theatrical version of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale. He founded the Dance Theatre of Long Island and its official school, the North Shore School of Dance (1981-1988). The company performed contemporary and classical works, and the school cultivated many successful dancers, many of whom danced with companies throughout the United States and abroad. Credited with playing a major role in bringing the company to the forefront of dance in Canada, Pourfarrokh served as Artistic Director of Alberta Ballet (1988-1998). During his tenure at Alberta Ballet, he choreographed more than 25 ballets for the company, to great critical acclaim, and restaged many of the classics. He also engaged Canadian, American, and foreign choreographers to bring in new works. After leaving Canada, he was appointed Artistic Director of Eglevsky Ballet in New York (1999-2010), staging classical repertory as well as his recreated and original works. Pourfarrokh's ballets are included in the repertories of various companies. As a master teacher of ballet, he is invited to train ballet companies in Europe and the United States. Since 2010, he has been teaching at the American Theatre Dance Workshop.