Azita Sahebjam

Azita Sahebjam is the director of Vancouver Pars National Ballet. She was born in Tehran, Iran. Sehebjam participated in the Pars National Ballet from 1972 until 1981, when the Islamic Republic of Iran banned dancing. From 1978, she taught dance to students of all ages.

In Iran, she performed in Arak, Mashed, Rezaiyeh, Sari, Shahrood, Ramsar and Tabriz. In Europe, she performed in England, Germany and France. Between 1981 and 1988, she conducted private courses exclusively for women. In 1988, she emigrated to Canada. In 1990, with the help of her husband and her brother-in-law, Abdollah Nazemi, she established the Vancouver Pars National Ballet. Her work has helped preserve Persian traditional and folk dances.

Azita designs and creates all the costumes for her dance group, representing various regions of Iran. Since 1990, the Vancouver Pars National Ballet performed over 110 times in major cities of Europe, the United States, and Canada. Azita and her group have also performed for a variety of charitable organizations including fundraising for schools, children's hospitals, cancer awareness societies, and seniors' homes. Azita Sahebjam has been a member of Folkfest Canada since 1992.

In 1999 she received a letter of appreciation for her work from the Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Hon. Jean Chrétien. In 1998 and subsequently in 1999, the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Hedy Fry, wrote to her in recognition of her contribution to preserving and presenting Persian folklore, dances and music, to communities around the world. In 1998, she received a letter from the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, in acknowledgment of her relentless efforts to promote and present the Persian cultural and traditional dances and music.

The Vancouver Pars National Ballet has performed jointly with various ethnic communities in North America, specially the First Nations, Russian, Ukrainian, the Ismaili and the Chinese communities. In 2000 at the 25th Annual St. Petersburg Folk Fair Society's performance, The Vancouver Pars National Ballet was selected as "the best performers" among 42 ethnic performances in North America.