Shereen Saif is a Dubai-based, Indian-born artist with a practice that spans dance, theatre, storytelling, voice acting and installation art. Her foundation is diverse and has deep roots in dance, theatre and architecture. Her movement vocabulary is shaped by her training in the Indian classical traditions of Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathak. Over the last seven years, she has focused on specializing in Mohiniyattam — the lyrical classical dance form of Kerala, under the tutelage of India’s foremost dancer-researcher Dr Neena Prasad. Her exposure to elements of contemporary dance comes from her association with Caroline Marcade, choreographer and professor at the French National School of Dramatic Arts. 

As an actor, Shereen believes in an integrated approach that borrows from Eastern and Western schools of thought. She is a LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) certified acting professional and has since 2015 continued to train in ancient Indian theatre practices under Venu G, Kutiyattam exponent, scholar and Founder of Natanakairali Research Training and Performing Centre for Traditional Arts. Her multidisciplinary approach to performing arts have resulted in creative collaborations that combine movement, theatre, music, video art and technology. Most notable include ‘Silent Conversations’ (2019) her photo-video-AR installation inspired from her association with the Deaf community in the UAE, her avant garde Virtual Reality work with conceptual artist Patrick Lichty (‘We Are’ 2018), dance video installations in collaboration film maker Swapna Kurup (‘The Unmanifested’ 2014, ‘Amorphous’ 2016) and her collaboration with iconic American painter and video artist Judy Rifka (‘INTERactive’ 2016). 

Her interest in applied arts and creative movement therapy led to her long standing association with UAE-based social enterprises Mawaheb — an art studio for adults with special needs and Movement Mantra — an establishment working with those afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease. Shereen is a founding member of Star Too — Dubai’s first experimental theatre project and was an artist collaborator in Trance-Forms, an initiative of the Emirati-French Cultural Programme: Dialogue with the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Featured as one of 40 Power Players in the UAE by Masala magazine (Feb 2019), she has performed widely in the UAE, in India, France and Italy.  She is currently a fellow of the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Emerging Artists Fellowship Programme 2021.