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DIRECTORIAL TEAM
POLINA MIRZAD - Director
Polina Mirzad is an award-winning artist whose life's work is deeply rooted in her family's refugee experience. Her husband and his family fled Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and were granted asylum in the United States, and later served in the in the U.S. Army combat forces, a personal connection that has significantly influenced her mission.
In 2019, Polina founded Crescent Moon Theater Productions (CMTP) with a vision to create original, thought-provoking performances that harness the power of art to inspire social and personal change. Since its inception, CMTP has produced a series of captivating works across the Bay Area, including venues like Dance Mission Theater, CounterPulse, PianoFight, and the Tenderloin National Forest.
From 2008 to 2018, Polina gained invaluable experience with The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women under the mentorship of Rhodessa Jones, where she discovered the transformative power of documentary theater. In 2016, she spearheaded CounterPulse Theater's first annual Blessed Unrest festival, which featured over 30 artists dedicated to art and social justice. Polina also curates art for the annual Bioneers Conference and brings joy and insight to audiences with her clown persona, Dr. Schmidt, who humorously claims to hold 49 PhDs.
Polina's work in the arts and social justice has been recognized with several notable awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, California Arts Council Impact Grants, Zellerbach Family Foundation Community Arts Grants, and the Tanette Goldberg Memorial Scholarship. Her work continues to shine a light on important stories, bringing them to the stage with passion and creativity, and she remains deeply grateful for the opportunity to make a meaningful impact through her art.
NATASHA ADORLEE - Choreographer
Natasha Adorlee is an Emmy Award-winning choreographer, filmmaker, composer, and educator based in San Francisco, CA. A first-generation Asian American woman, she is the daughter of a Taiwanese refugee and a father who served in the U.S. Air Force. Natasha brings her own family history to this work—infusing her creations with a deeply personal understanding of displacement, duty, and the long echoes of war.
She was the final Artistic Fellow with Amy Seiwert’s Imagery and began choreographing in 2014 while sustaining an award-winning performance career with Robert Moses' Kin, ODC/Dance, Kate Weare & Co., and the San Francisco Symphony.
After earning critical acclaim for her short film Take Your Time (2018)—which won over ten international awards—Natasha has become a sought-after choreographer, filmmaker, and composer. She holds degrees from SUNY Purchase and UC Berkeley, and was invited to join ODC/Dance, where she contributed original choreography, sound design, and art direction to more than 20 repertory works.
To date, Natasha has created over 20 original dance-based works across stage, film, and immersive media. Recent commissions include Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works, Kansas City Ballet, BalletX, Ceprodac (Mexico), Kawaguchi Ballet (Japan), Ballare Carmel, Ballet22, and Imagery. Her commercial collaborations include original work for Pixar Animation Studios, Oculus, National Geographic, and The New Yorker.
As the founder of Concept o4, Natasha is dedicated to creating multimedia, dance-driven experiences that expand access to the arts. She has been recognized with a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency, Jacob’s Pillow Choreographic Fellowship, and multiple new commissions in 2024.
