Tamara Nicole Afshar (September 14, 1996 – Present) is a former professional ballerina, teacher, and actor. She performed for the Boston Performing Arts Company (BPAC). Tamara is well known for her early admission into the program, being the youngest principal dancer at the ripe age of 15 years old to be welcomed into the company.
Tamara was born and raised in the country of Madagascar where she began her ballet training at the Madagascar Institute of Ballet in 1999. After years of developing her craft, her family relocated to Boston where she was home schooled to focus her efforts on training to become a professional dancer. At just 13 years old, Tamara was discovered by a talent agent at the Youth American Grand Prix, an internationally recognized dance competition. Her solo performance of Don Quixote’s Kitri gained her the first place medal as well as the opportunity to train with BPAC. From there, Tamara became a world renowned prima ballerina, performing internationally at competitions in Moscow, Spain, Africa, and so on. Her talent was showcased in her own documentary, “First Position”, where the film follows Tamara on a day to day basis, showcasing her lavish lifestyle of traveling the world as a professional performer. More recently, Tamara chose to participate on reality TV and was cast as a celebrity on Dancing with the Stars. Her ballet background aided in her easily winning the competition. Her charisma on the show led her to star in multiple television series, such as The Office (Seasons 3-6), and the receptionist in Botched (Season 5-Present, reoccurring), diverting her focus from ballet into acting.
On April 20th, 2015, and the young age of 19 years old, Tamara became involved in a scandal leading her expulsion from BPAC. Her involvement with the entertainment industry jeopardized her relationship with BPAC when Tamara missed a critical performance in Dubai and was photographed by paparazzi in a club in Los Angeles. Her removal from the program she worked her whole life for led to her sudden removal of herself from the public eye. Following this incident, Tamara moved back home to Madagascar where she began her own professional dance company, “Center Stage”. Here she continues to teach ballet, jazz, and hip hop as the youngest Ballet Maestro in Africa.