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Alarmél Valli is a leading Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer acclaimed internationally for her ability to turn a traditional grammar into a subtle, deeply internalized, personal dance poetry. Having studied with great masters, Pandanallur Sri Chokkalingam Pillai and his son Sri Subbaraya Pillai, Valli has evolved a distinctive dance style which has been described as : "uncompromisingly classical, but, at the same time, an undeniable language of self-expression." (Her dance) is both a stylised idiom and an idiolect, blurring the boundaries between tradition and the individual talent, inheritance and invention. It is obvious to even the lay viewer that her dance is not merely a received grammar. It is a reinvented one. ” Amongst numerous awards received by Alarmél Valli, are the Padma Sri and the Padma Bhushan, conferred by the President of India, the Chevalier of Arts and Letters award from the French Government and the award of The Sangeet Natak Akademy - the apex body for Indian Music, Dance and Drama.

Rekha Nadgauda's total dedication , devotion , towards this art form & her determination to propogate kathak bore fruits on 23 feb., 1976, named 'kirti kala mandir' a first kathak dance institute of Nashik. Today more than 200 students are under her tutelage. Kirti Kala Mandir becomes the first Dance Institute of India to get the ISO 9001-2000 certificate. Founder of Kirti Kala Mandir and her students has beens performing throughout the world.

I am a Bharatanatyam dancer from Chennai I am a disciple of Smt Chtra Visweswaran. I have been performing for the past 10 years. I travel in and around India and abroad performing.

Dancer, choreographer Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant, with an acclaimed and intense body of work, behind her that spans rich mythologies and historical chronicles, to searing commentary on gender issues; continues to stretch the outer realms of artistic endeavor, using the grammar, idiom and space-time construct of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi making it at once contemporary and communicative. Dancing with joy, Ananda, one of the renowned dancers of the country; imbues technique and grammar with a sparkling quality, bristling with life. Hailed as an intelligent and thinking dancer with contemporary sensibility, Ananda, with her grace, vivacity and inner luminescence draws the viewer into the inner spaces that she paints, leaving the audience deeply touched.

A fine exponent of the Gwalior style, Shashwati’s musical dexterity marks a refined eclecticism that has lent her an individualistic style at a fairly young age.Born into a familt devoted to music, Shashwati showed rare sensitivity towards it from early childhood. Grand-daughter late Pt. Balabhau Umdekar, the erudite exponent of the Gwalior style of classical Hindustani music and a court musician of the Gwalior State. Shashwati, initially trained under her mother Smt. Kamal Mandal . Later from 1987-1992 she received the national scholarship from the dept, of Culture, Govt. of India. For learning ‘Tappa’ and ‘Khyal’ from the vetran musician Pt. Balasaheb Poonchwale. A foremost disciple of Balasaheb, Shashwati has acquired under his tutelage an able hold on the subtle complexity of ‘Tappa’. She also continued to be inspired by her mother whose steady guidance has groomed her into an accomplished performer. Quest for more knowledge in music brought Shashwati under the expert guidance of Pt.Madup Mudgal, vidushi Smt Purnima Choudary and Gundecha Brothers. Her national programme of music by A.I.R. in 1997 and 2003 was rated very good by Directorate A.I.R. Shashwati is an empanelled artist of the Indian council for cultural relations in the category Hindustani vocals ‘Solo’ She is also an ‘A’ grade artist of A.I.R. and Doordarshan. She has been nominated to the Top ten of the ‘world songlines awards 2009 by songlines magazine in the category “Best newcomer and best artist” for her album ‘Tappa Journey’ released by sense world music in U.K. She has also bagged the Five Star review status by songlines magazine U.K. She has been awarded the title Surmani by sur singar samsad Mumbai, and also has been awarded the Mani Mann fellowship by Sanskriti foundation New Delhi. She has two audio cds released by Alurkar music pune and Sense music world U.K. She has conducted workshop with her guru Pt. Balasaheb and individually at different parts of the country. She has held a first class academic career through out her education.

I am a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, one of the seven tertiary institutions in Mauritius, where I have been teaching Hindustani Vocal Music and Indian Philosophy, besides shouldering managerial work, for the last 20 years. My fields of specialisation are Khyal and, more importantly, Dhrupada. I hold a B.Mus. in Tabla, B.Mus. in Hindustani Vocal Music and M.Mus. in Hindustani Vocal Music, in addition to an MA in Indian Philosophy and Religion from Banaras Hindu University. I studied Khyal singing under great stalwarts, namely; Dr Chitaranjan Jyotishi, Dr Pradeep Kumar Dixit, Dr Kanak Rai Trivedi and Mr Ajit Bhattacharya, of the traditional Gwalior Gharana in Banaras for 8 years. More importantly, I received my training in Dhrupada singing of the Dagar Vani under the guidance of Dr Ritwik Sanyal for 6 years in the Guru-Shishya tradition . I perform very often, present papers in seminars and conferences, and conduct workshops on Indian Music. I am a member of the Pan-African Society for Music and Arts Education (PASMAE) and the International Society for Music Education (ISME). I am presently at the University of Delhi, India, completing the process of submitting my doctoral thesis. I look forward to sharing and acquiring knowledge and skills pertaining to Indian Music.

Sudeshna is a musician, playing the rich tradition of north Indian classical music. Her instrument is the sarod. Sudeshna began to learn at the age of four from her father Pandit Shri Krishnamohan Bhattacharya, who is respected not only because of his sarod, but also because of his vocal knowledge in dhrupad style. According to the tradition, Pandit Shri Krishnamohan Bhattacharya learnt from his father, who was a great esraj player. Sudeshna had her first European tour in 1999 touring Belgium, Switzerland, France, Sweden and Norway, and a half hour broadcast and one hour interview on Belgian public radio. Since the she's living in Marseilles, and she's giving concerts, teaching, recording and participating in French cultural happenings with the support of the French Ministry of Culture.

Mallika Sarabhai is one of India’s leading choreographers and dancers, in constant demand as a soloist and with her own dance company, Darpana, creating and performing both classical and contemporary works. She has a PhD in organisational behaviour and has been the co-director of the prestigious arts institution, Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, for nearly 30 years. Mallika first made a name for herself in India as a film actress but soon was recognised as an exceptional young dancer in the classical forms of Bharata Natyam and Kuchipudi. At 18, she won the first of many awards. She first came to international notice when she played the role of Draupadi in Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata for 5 years, first in French and then English, performing in France, North America, Australia, Japan and Scotland Always an activist for societal education and women’s empowerment, Mallika began using her work for change. In 1989 she created the first of her hard-hitting solo theatrical works, Shakti: The Power of Women. Since then Mallika has created numerous stage productions which have raised awareness, highlighted crucial issues and advocated change, several of which productions have toured internationally as well as throughout India. In the mid 90s Mallika began to develop her own contemporary dance vocabulary and went on to create short and full-length works which have been presented in North America, Scotland, Singapore, China and Australia, as well as in India.

Rasika Jog developed her musical interest at a very early age and was very interested in classical music. She got inspiration from her grandfather and she started her musical training at the age of nine with various Gurus. In 1986 she completed Sangeet Visharad (Seven Year Course Equivalent to Bachelor of Arts in India). From 1993- 2002 Rasika owned and managed Akhil Music Academy at Ahmedabad, India and arrived in Canada in 2002 and since then she has been pursuing her interest in curriculum based music teaching, musical presentations and music direction. Rasika joined Canada Hindu Heritage Center in 2003 and has since been teaching vocal and harmonium for Kala Niketan School of Performing Arts. Rasika has recorded her voice for three commercial cassettes for Marathi/Gujarati folk songs and has performed live in Canada and USA and entertained the audience with light music.

M.A. (ECONOMICS) ; M.A. (MUSIC) UNIVERSITY OF RAJASTHAN.

Started learning flute at the age of eight. Attended many workshops under various exponents e.g Kalyana Krishna Bhagavathar etc. Major concerts: World Music Festival in Amsterdam during 1994, Mahatma Gandhi Hall,Mauritius (organised by B.O.P.I.O) in October 2009, Performed in Sri Thiagaraja Utsavam in Thiruvaiyar (S.India) in the Years-2004,2006 and 2007, Performed in numerous Kalai Vizhas and Music festivals all over U.K, Performed short concerts (1 hour duration) in The Philharmonic Hall,Liverpool under the auspices Of “Milap” during 1992-1996. accompanied many leading vocalists during Bharatha Natyam arangetrams and concerts.

V Vamshidhar is a grade "A" artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. He has performed in the Akashavani Sangeeth Sammelan 2011 at Thiruchirapally (Tamil nadu), Ramaseva Mandali, Chamarajapet, Bangalore( May 2012), Kalabharathi, Vishakapatnam, Swthi thirunal Sangeeth Sabha, Trivandrum etc.

Dr. Mrs. Nisha Rao is a Kashmiri, born in the Valley of Srinagar and brought up in Bombay (Mumbai), Nisha loved music since her child hood and won many interschool and college singing competitions. She had the privilege to sing semi classical songs in programs where singers of high calibre and repute like Shri. Manade, Usha Mangeshkar and Kavita Krishna Murthy performed. Encouraged by Shri. Manade in early 70s she started learning Hindustani classical music and trained in Rampur Saswan gharana with Late S Kulkerni and later with Mr Rahim Zullah, in Brisbane, Australia. She has learnt music for over 13 years. Nisha's current School of Hindustani Classical Music is in its seventh year. She teaches classical - Vocal Music, Bhajans (devotional), and ghazals. Nisha has taken part in individually organised and shared concerts with a number of visiting maestros and her peers in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney. Nisha has given her time to mainstream organisations, the state; ethnic media, spiritual, inter faith and humanitarian causes.

Bollywood, Barthan Nathyam, chutney, soca and hip hop and belly dancing in Trinidad.

Ruchi started learning Bharatanatyam at the age of four under the keen tutelage of (late) Guru Smt. SUJATA DINESH in the Pandanallur style. After acquiring the basic knowledge of this dance form at Rukmini Devi Lalit Kala Kendra, she went on to complete the Sangeet Visharad Sampoorna from Delhi with a distinction in 2004. Her hard core interest took her further for an advanced and rigorous training under the guidance of legendary GURU DR. SAROJA VAIDYANATHAN (PADMASHRI) in the Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam. She received KALASHREE From GANESA NATYALAYA , 2005; the National Scholarship Award, HRD, from the Government of India for two years in 2006; and the Rohini Gaurav Samman from Salam Delhi newspapers in 2009. An empanelled artiste with the Indian World Cultural Forum as well as a member of the prestigious organization Abhai (Chennai), Ruchi performs extensively throughout the year. Teaching at her Guruji’s institute, the Ganesha Natyalaya since 2005, the residents of Rohini motivated her to start her own institute, “Kirti Natya Niketan” to teach the dance form to those living in the area, expose them to our rich cultural heritage and thereby fill a gap that exists in the cultural life of North Delhi.

Pandit Prasanna Madhav Gudi is a young and dynamic budding artiste of Kirana Gharana, who is completely devoted to Hindustani vocal music. He was born and brought up in a cultural family which was dedicated towards Hindustani music and the promotion of classical music in Kirana Gharana style. Pandit Prasanna Madhav Gudi holds a Diploma in Fine Arts (music). He started his music career under the guidelines of his father and guru Pt. Madhav Gudi, under the Guru Shishya tradition. He spent 2 years under the tutelage of the renowned Kirana Gharana senior musician Pandit Firoze Dasture. He has captured the unique style gayaki of Kirana Gharana and developed a melodious and seasoned voice.Pandit Prasanna Gudi is also involved with Swara Mahayaga and Swara Mahayoga music mind relaxation therapy in Bengaluru. He is also planning to start Swara Mahayaga Maha Vidyalaya in the near future. He has received over 275 satkars (awards), some of which include Limca Book of Records, Guinness world record, Veer Savarkar award, Bharath Hindu Maha Sabha, Government Junior Fellowship award, Digamanar Paluskar music award.

New York Indian Dance Company is the finest Kathak Institue in New York training students of all age groups and from various ethnic groups. The Studio located at Forest Hills,Queens is well equipped with mirror and hard floor. Pia Majumdar a Post Graduate in Dance from Kolkata,India trains with Speed and Artistry in Choreography. The Students learn kathak, Bollywood, Folk Dance and Bangla Dance. There are regular workshops conducted by Pia Majumdar and other Artistes, tabla practice with kathak ,complete knowledge of Taal, like Teentaal,Jhaptaal,Dhamaar. Dance performances,choreographies,physical fitness are all a part of the Repertoire 150 weblistings.linkined,google/yahoo/youtube. Performances at NYPL, ISCKON,IACAW,Indian Consulate,Dance Festivals in 5 boroughs

Kumud Mathur is extensively trained in Kathak (Jaipur Gharana) from Guru Kundan Lalji. She is proficient in many folk dances of India. Her folk dance training is traditional with Guru Bhagwan Dasji. Her performance experience is vast, her group and she has performed for the Smithsonian Institution, Asian Pacific American heritage events and inter-faith festivals in the Metro Washington DC region. Her class was televised on ABC, FOX and NBC televisions. She is currently teaching Bollywood dance for Maryland University, Montgomery County, Rockville City, and DC Libraries. she has introduced Bollywood dance as low impact cardio-vascular exercise in Senior homes. She has also attained a diploma in Laughter Yoga. she is teaching it since 2001 in DC Metro area. Maryland University invited her to conduct the Laughter class for the students before their final exams. She is a practicing mathematician by profession.

I am an ace performer and teacher of the bansuri / Indian Bamboo Flute of the Maihar gharana. A mechanical engineer with post graduate management qualifications, I took to bansuri at a very young age. Having studied and played the bansuri for over forty four years, I am now completely devoted to performing, teaching and recording the bansuri. I proceeded to become one of the senior most ganda bandh disciples of the bansuri maestro PANDIT HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA, having been accepted and initiated into traditional ganda bandhan in 1981. I have performed extensively in India, USA etc. Conferred with SURMANI. Have played several jugalbandhi concerts with the santoor, sitar, slide guitar, mandolin, sarod and violin. I have performed and recorded with outstanding tabla players of the likes of Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Kashinath Mishra. Have several albums released in India and internationally.

Revital has been dedicated to the practice of Indian spiritual arts for over 20 years. Yoga and meditation led her to discover her passion for Indian Dance, where she finds the sensual and the spiritual expressing as one. She is an internationally acclaimed performer and she teaches workshops and retreats worldwide. Revital draws her inspiration from the elements of nature, the wisdom of her own body, and the rich spiritual heritage of ancient India. Her teachings are guided by a sweet devotion to life, and her classes weave together intensity, surrender, and joyful play.