Pooneh Alizadeh , Mehrbanoo is the award-winning artistic director of the Academy of Middle Eastern Dance, AMED Dance Academy. She established the academy in North Vancouver in 2004 , and it continues to be a leading school of Middle Eastern dance in the Vancouver area and beyond.
Pooneh immigrated to Canada in 2000. She brought with her a persuasive leadership and dedication to Middle Eastern folk and classical dance forms from her cultural heritage. Her strong academic background in Middle Eastern, Folklore, and Ballet, Creates a colourful Middle Eastern fusion repertoire. Combining authentic feeling with a modern flair includes a master’s degree in Art from Tehran University. She is an accomplished performer, master instructor, choreographer, director, and producer. She has utilized her artistic passions and expertise to help the community, seniors, handicapped and develop innovative performance and teaching programs.
She has the privilege of organizing, participating leading, volunteering, performing and training performers at a wide range of venues and events. Also, a very well-known artist with all social media. She has a strong network through all social media.
She is teaching Dance in different community Center across BC and her studio for the last 20 years. Her Academy’s primary goal is community connection.
*Awarded as a BC Culture Ambassador in 2016.
*The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards of 2018
Pooneh uses dance movements as a form of therapy, a real full body and soul workout! She firmly believes that dance can play an essential role in creating a feeling of relaxation and peace, in developing healthy relationships and behaviors, creating a better self-image in her students and whoever taking classes with her and releasing negative energy overall. She believes that every person has the right and deserves to feel good about themselves, to accept who they are and to be happy.
Pooneh uses her art to create connections within her and different communities. She is volunteering and performing monthly in senior houses, hospitals, schools, mental hospitals, etc.
She always was thinking about how she can help deaf people to feel the music and enjoy the melody and rhythm of the music. She was studying to learn sign language for making the correct dance routines for deaf people.
Her dance with sign language is designed to introduce people with hearing problems to the joy of music, understand the melody and the rhythm of the song and poetry, empower them to explore dance movement in a way that is stimulating and creative. Dance therapy can increase their recognition of rhythm and patterns of movement. She combines sign language and dance moves together for them to enjoy and enable them to show their feelings throw dance which they can share, communicate, express emotion through movements.
She wrote articles and had several interviews about dance and health in North shore news. She always helps, inspire and motivate others by her passion through her volunteering workshop in different places, such as hospitals, community events, senior houses, schools, mental hospitals and much more to help as many people as possible who are in need.
She was training performers and performing in First Nowruz Celebration in Parliament (Hall of Honour) in Victoria in 2018.
She is a very active volunteer in Vancouver. She has conducted informal dance workshops for organizations serving seniors, youth and kids. These have a positive impact on participants. often enhancing social interaction and a sense of sharing and well-being across cultures. Examples include Senior houses in different places in Vancouver, lions gate hospital, Vancouver General Hospital. She was Volunteering in RCMP(Community Police) for 1 year.
Organizing and leading a large group of artists at the Culture Day 2015 to 2019 in Lonsdale Quay with over 700 audiences and Lynn Valley Square.
• Group dance performances at the May is Art of Month from 2011 to 2018
• Organized and choreographed large group for Canada Day Parade from 2013 to 2019 in collaboration with the Canadian Iranian Foundation.
• Flash Mob Group Dance in Capilano Mall,2012, with over 1000 audience.
• Caribbean Day Parade and Festival from 2009 to 2019
• North Shore Folk festival from 2011 to 2021
• Korean Festival from 2009 to 2021
• Diwali festival of light from 2011 to 2019
• Greek Festivals from 2015 to 2019
• Volunteering performances and workshops on several occasions in different senior houses and Hospitals as a dance therapy for them.
• Teaching Dance in different community Center across BC for the last 20 years.
She has had the privilege of organizing and participating in more than 10 very large community events, Also a very well-known artist with all social media. She has a very strong network through all social media.
She is a very active volunteer on the North Shore. She has conducted informal dance workshops for organizations serving seniors and youth. These have a positive impact on participants – often enhancing social interaction and a sense of sharing and well-being across cultures. Examples include West Vancouver Senior houses such as Inglewood Hollyburn, Amica and Capilano , North Vancouver Senior houses such as Lynne valley care centre, lions gate hospital, Burnaby seniors Outreach, Vancouver Coastal Health and Vancouver General Hospital.
