KALAMANDIR Dance Company

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I was initiated into Odissi dance at the age of 9 in Trinidad and Tobago by Mondira Balkaransingh of the Nrityanjali Dance Theatre.  Since migrating to the United States, I furthered my training in Odissi dance under the tutelage of Guru Durga Charan Ranbir and Bani Ray in Deba Prasad Das’s gharana.  I have performed extensively throughout the United States and have traveled with Bani Ray to Indian Arrival Day celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago in 2000 and The International Food Festival in Guyana, in 2005. Professionally, I work as a Compliance Paralegal at a hedgefund in New Jersey.

Being so used to a structured repertoire in the Odissi dance form, I am indeed delighted to be a part of Kalamandir Dance Company and am intrigued by the talent of these dancers all from various genres of dance. I feel so fortunate to be working with Guru Malabika Guha who inspires the dancers to be expressive and creative as we all collaborate to produce a new perspective of Indian dance in the form of movement research. Dance to me is my escape from the realities of the real world which can be trying at times, to a place where the expression of time and movement takes a fresh breath and transforms the chaos into the rhythm of my life.

"Dance, like music, knows no geographical boundaries, no linguistic barriers and no racial divisions.  All walls crumble where art is concerned. It is a great unifying and integrating force."  
- Vempatti Chinna Satyam 
(Nartanam Vol IV #3, p46, July-Sept 2004)

As a first generation American with South Asian roots, dance has been a creative outlet to address my complex identity.  With my primary training in ballet, many years of experience within various classical Indian dance traditions, and immersion in Spanish and Brazilian dance forms, my vision has been to show that in an era of intense cultural globalization, dance is not and should not be immune to “adulteration” or the process of fusion. It is for this reason that in recent productions, I have woven aspects of flamenco with Kathak, Ballet with Odissi, and modern dance with Bharatanatyam. My identity borrows aspects from different types of communities, and so too does my artistic mind. 

I believe that dance is the expression of one’s soul, and souls do not speak in a singular, pure tongue.  Therefore, my mission has been to demonstrate that while we come from diverse communities, unique cultures, and varying histories, humans share vastly more similarities than differences that work beautifully together if just given the chance to communicate.

My name is Donia Salem. As a disciple of Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, I have had the good fortune to study Odissi since 2003. (More coming)

My name is Jamuna Dasi, and I am a performer, choreographer, and teacher from Berkeley, CA. I began my dance training at East Bay Dance Center, Oakland Ballet, and Berkeley High School. I have received a Certificate in Performance from The School of The Hartford Ballet and BFA in Dance from Florida State University.

Over the years, I have performed with Pennsylvania Dance Theatre, Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Theatre, Acrodance Theatre, Opera Festival of New Jersey, New Jersey Opera Theatre, and have danced five seasons with The Opera Company of Philadelphia. Additionally I have performed professionally in works by Robert Boross, Ze’Eva Cohen, Jose Limon, Joanna Mendleshaw, Claire Porter, Ronn Pratt, Martial Romain, Mathew Neenan and Kathy Young. I had the good fortune to recently make my musical theater debut as Cassandra in CATS at Villagers Theater in NJ and am now happy to be dancing with Kalamandir Dance Company. 

My choreography credits include ballets for Don Giovanni, L’enfant et les Sortileges, The Marriage of Figaro and Cheruban with NJ Opera Theatre. One of my biggest achievements and great joys have been envisioning, running and producing the OUTLET DANCE PROJECT every year for the last five years. This past year, Kalamandir Dance Company was involved in the OUTLET DANCE PROJECT at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.

Hello folks! My name is Brinda Guha and I have been learning Indian Classical Kathak dance for the past 15 years with Kalamandir of New Jersey from none other than my mother, Smt. Malabika Guha. I also learn Manipuri dance with Guru Kalavati Devi in Kolkata, India and Flamenco Arts with the beautiful Dionisia Garcia in New York City as well as in Carmen de las Cuevas in Granada, Spain.

I have performed all over the coasts of USA, as well as internationally, including London, Spain, and India. In Spain, I was dared to put on impromptu classical performances in the street with my good friend Ria Dasgupta - and so, we did! It's all in the little things. I also choreographed and wrote my first production in 2005 entitled "RISE", based on the poems of Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou - which had performances worldwide. Some of my past productions are "Valmiki Pratibad", 'Devi Choudhurani", "Meerabai", "Kal Mrigaya", "Pujarini", "Shyama", and Kalamandir's original "Africa" directed by Malabika Guha. In 2008, I had the good fortune of performing and traveling with Epic Actors' Workshop for their play "Pagla Ghora", written by Badal Sarkar and directed by Amol Palekar & Subhasis Das. In 2009, l performed in Detroit, Michigan for a solo Kathak showcase (September). In December, catch me as Nandini in Rabindranath Tagore's play, "Red Oleanders", showcased at New Jersey Performing Arts Center for the South Asian Theatre Festival.

Other than dance, I have been trained in Classical Piano from Richard Hendrickson for 10 years. Even though I study economics and mathematics at New York University, my true passion lies with performing classical dance. It is my dream to open up my own international dance troupe, and now I describe Kalamandir Dance Company as my dream come true for all kinds of reasons.

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My name is Natasha Mehra and I am currently a 6^th year pharmacy student at Rutgers University.  I have grown up in Old Bridge, New Jersey with my parents and 2 sisters.

My first exposure to dance was at the age of 8, when I took one-year classes in Tap and Ballet at Dancation in Old Bridge, New Jersey. At 9 years old my mom enrolled my sisters and I in a Kathak class with Malabika Guha in Manalpan, New Jersey, now the director of Kalamandir Dance Company. I was lucky to learn from such a talented artist. I do not think I appreciated the beauty of Kathak until an older age. It has become a dance form that I am very passionate about and I hope to continue learning.

While in high school I began dancing for Naach Sensation, a competitive dance troupe led by Sonali Vyas. Naach Sensation was a fusion dance team combining the many forms of Indian dance and hip hop using contemporary pop fusion Music. In college I danced with the Rutgers Bhangra Team. Bhangra was an outlet for me all through out college. I danced for the team for 5 years competing at 18 competitions nationally and internationally.

Recently, I have had the pleasure to dance with some very talented women as a part of the Kalamandir Dance Company. Throughout my life I have been dancing in one form or another and I am very excited to grow as a dancer with the Kalamandir Dance Company. 

(coming)