Leela Dance Collective

Leela Dance Collective Sharing the beauty of kathak dance through traditional works and cross-genre collaborations.

Leela Dance Collective is an internationally touring dance company that advances kathak, classical dance from North India. Through traditional works and cross-genre collaborations, the Collective brings the richness and depth of Indian classical dance to contemporary audiences worldwide. Leela Dance Collective has garnered critical acclaim under the artistic direction of renowned kathak artists Se

ibi Lee, Rachna Nivas, and Rina Mehta, and engages some of today’s leading dancers and musicians, as well as collaborative artists of other genres. Leela Dance Collective has created groundbreaking productions including 'SPEAK', 'Son of the Wind', 'ReSound', and more. Past highlights include appearances at Ford Theaters, The Broad Stage, Kimmel Center, the Green Music Center, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, National Center for the Performing Arts in Bombay, Maui Arts & Cultural Center, and NC State LIVE.

01/30/2026

We’re thrilled to share the official trailer for SPEAK as we prepare for the work’s New York premiere.

📍 92nd Street Y
📍 February 21, 2026 | 7:00 PM
🎟 Ticket link in bio

Co-created by Rachna Nivas, Rukhmani Mehta, Michelle Dorrance, and Dormeshia, SPEAK is a sensational kathak–tap collaboration that bridges forms, cultures and communities through rhythm, dance and music. Presented as part of 92NY’s 2025–26 Harkness Mainstage Dance Series, Women Move the World, this New York premiere marks the next chapter of a work that has been evolving for over a decade.

🎶 Featuring an extraordinary ensemble of musicians:
Jayanta Banerjee (Composer, Sitar)
Ambarish Das (Vocals)
Satyaprakash Mishra (Tabla)
Caili O’Doherty (Piano)
Noah Garabedian (Bass)
Dennis Buleous (Drums)

We hope you will join us!

We are so excited to announce the long-awaited New York premiere of our production SPEAK on Feb 21 . SPEAK is a deeply m...
01/28/2026

We are so excited to announce the long-awaited New York premiere of our production SPEAK on Feb 21 .

SPEAK is a deeply meaningful project for us—a legacy of the conversation between tap and kathak that our Guruji, Pandit Chitresh Das, and began in 2004 through their sensational show India Jazz Suites, which toured for ten years. Their vision not only brought these two art forms together, but also their tap and kathak communities. That meeting ultimately gave rise to SPEAK—a space for women in these forms to carry the percussive conversation forward, sharing parallel histories of resilience, reverence for lineage, and a kinship rooted in improvisation and rhythmic play.

SPEAK premiered in 2017 at YBCA in San Francisco and toured to several cities across the U.S. and India, before its trajectory was interrupted by the pandemic. We are thrilled to remount this work through a Works & Process residency and stage performance at 92nd Street Y. Conceived by Leela’s Co-Artistic Directors Rachna Nivas and Rukhmani Mehta, and co-created with tap legends Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia, SPEAK is an evening of fearless rhythm, improvisation, and live music.

Featuring live musical artists:
Jayanta Banerjee, sitar (Musical Director)
Satyaprakash Mishra, tabla
Ambarish Das, Hindustani vocal
Caili O’Doherty, piano
Dennis Bulhoes, drums
Noah Garabedian, bass

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Los Angeles, CA
91304

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