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

Throwback Thursday — Reflecting on Kathak Utsav, a winter showcase that featured next-generation dancers Seema Barua and...
06/26/2025

Throwback Thursday — Reflecting on Kathak Utsav, a winter showcase that featured next-generation dancers Seema Barua and Sasha Salvi in one of their first experiences with the traditional kathak solo.

This memorable evening was supported by our incredible musical collaborators, Chirag Dixit (sarangi) and Ravindra Deo (tabla) with vocal and recitation support by Leela Youth Dance Dance Company members Varnika Bhat and Shriya Patel.

The evening would not have been possible without the invaluable training, mentorship and guidance of Rukhmani Mehta and Seibi Lee, who are avid about creating platforms for next generation dancers to develop and grow. A special thank you to our community of students, families and audience members made the evening all the more special.

Swipe through and enjoy these moments from a truly special night!

An enormous thank you to our far-sighted champions in the California state legislature for restoring the PAEPF to the 20...
06/24/2025

An enormous thank you to our far-sighted champions in the California state legislature for restoring the PAEPF to the 2025 budget. This funding is crucial to sustaining the work of arts organizations like Leela to enliven and enrich communities through the arts”

Governor , we urge you to restore the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund and support arts jobs and and a thriving California!

Thank you Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel

California thrives when the arts thrive!

And that’s a wrap! An incredibly memorable night for Leela Dance Collective. What an incredibly warm audience! And what ...
04/25/2025

And that’s a wrap! An incredibly memorable night for Leela Dance Collective. What an incredibly warm audience! And what an astounding cast of dancers and musicians. Looking forward to taking this show on the road and sharing the joy of music, dance and collaboration with audiences around the globe!

Photos by the incredible

Don’t miss LDC Artistic Director Rachna Nivas at the Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival! Accompanied by esteemed musicians Jay...
04/22/2025

Don’t miss LDC Artistic Director Rachna Nivas at the Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival! Accompanied by esteemed musicians Jayanta Banerjee, Satyaprakash Mishra, and Asif Khan 🙏✨

Leela hits the press! Bay City News features Leela Dance Collective, highlighting Encounters with Beauty, premiering thi...
04/17/2025

Leela hits the press! Bay City News features Leela Dance Collective, highlighting Encounters with Beauty, premiering this SATURDAY 📣

Swipe through to read more about the show.

We are thrilled to introduce you the ensemble of dancers that will be performing in Encounters with Beauty, premiering i...
04/12/2025

We are thrilled to introduce you the ensemble of dancers that will be performing in Encounters with Beauty, premiering in less than one week at Livermore Valley Arts!

Ahana Mukherjee began studying kathak at the age of ten. She was a part of the inaugural Chhandam Youth Dance Company (now Leela Youth Dance Company) from 2001 through 2009. Upon completing her undergraduate studies at UCLA, she resumed her kathak dance training eventually joined the Leela Dance Collective. She has performed in the company’s major works including Son of the Wind and ReSound: Kathak in the Streets. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Leela Youth Dance Company.

At the young age of four, Sonali Toppur began her study of kathak. In 2003, she joined the Chhandam Youth Dance Company (now Leela Youth Dance Company) and trained directly under kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das. Sonali eventually joined the Leela Dance Collective and has performed in the company’s major productions including Son of the Wind and ReSound: Kathak in the Streets. Sonali is also a passionate eductor having taught young kathak students in various capacities since 2009.

Seema Barua has trained in Indian classical dance since the age of five, studying kuchipudi under Smt. Sumathy Kaushal. She began her study of kathak in 2015 with Leela and continues her training with Seibi Lee and Rukhmani Mehta. Seema is an apprentice member of the Leela Dance Collective and is passionate about promoting kathak dance through education. She has performed extensively with the Music Center’s arts education program in Los Angeles and beyond. She is also a passionate educator and teaches at Leela’s training center in Los Angeles.

We are thrilled to introduce you to the incredible string quartet led by Sahana Shravan that will be joining us for Enco...
04/12/2025

We are thrilled to introduce you to the incredible string quartet led by Sahana Shravan that will be joining us for Encounters with Beauty on April 19th at Livermore Valley Arts!

Sahana Shravan is a 23 year old violinist completing her Master of Music degree in Violin Performance at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Catherine Cho. She began studying violin at 3 years old in her hometown of Boca Raton, FL. She comes from a family of Carnatic music lovers (classical South Indian music).

Violinist Dylan Hamme is a fourth year undergraduate student of Areta Zhulla at The Juilliard School as recipient of the Dorothy Delay scholarship. In March of 2024, he won Juilliard’s Violin Concerto Competition and performed Ligeti’s Violin Concerto with Juilliard Orchestra (AXIOM Ensemble) and Jeffrey Milarsky.

Sunjay Jayaram is a violist, violinist and improviser who plays in a variety of styles including traditional and contemporary classical music as well as jazz and other genres. Sunjay has studied at NYU with Laura Hamilton and holds a Masters from the Mannes School of Music studying with Jennifer Koh. He is the violist in Sirius Quartet, a group that plays its own music.

Jackie Hager, a Rochester born cellist, attends the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Professor Natasha Brofsky. She made her orchestral debut at age 12 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and has since returned as a guest artist with them and other orchestras. Jackie also performs regularly as a baroque cellist, and she collaborates in prize-winning chamber ensembles.

We are thrilled to introduce you to Leela’s very own senior artists Rachna Nivas and Joanna Meinl, featured in Leela’s l...
04/10/2025

We are thrilled to introduce you to Leela’s very own senior artists Rachna Nivas and Joanna Meinl, featured in Leela’s latest production, Encounters with Beauty.

Read below to learn more about them!

Called “revelatory” and “charismatic” by critics, Rachna Nivas is a leading kathak artist, educator, and activist in Indian classical dance, bringing a relevant voice to kathak. She is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Leela Dance Collective, director of Leela’s New York training center and a current Artist-in-Residence at the 92Y Harkness Dance Center. Her original works include Reclaiming the Divine Feminine, Unedited, SPEAK and Son of the Wind.

Joanna Meinl began her 20 year journey studying with legendary master artist, Pandit Chitresh Das at San Francisco State University. She graduated cm laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Dance Ethnology and became a performing member of the Chitresh Das Dance Company in 1998. She has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and India with Das’ critically acclaimed productions including Darbar, Pancha Jati, Sita Haran and more. Meinl is a principal dancer with Leela Dance Collective, performing and touring with the collective’s major works.

We are excited to introduce Saili Oak, a critically acclaimed Hindustani vocalist, and Satyaprakash Mishra, a distinguis...
04/08/2025

We are excited to introduce Saili Oak, a critically acclaimed Hindustani vocalist, and Satyaprakash Mishra, a distinguished tabla virtuoso. These incredible artists will be joining Leela Dance Collective on stage for the premiere of Encounters with Beauty on April 19th at Livermore Valley Arts.

Saili Oak, a senior disciple of Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, is known for her distinguished work in the Indian/Western Classical music crossover space. She has performed with notable western music ensembles including the Albany Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Tonality, Bridge to Everywhere, and Salastina Music Society. She has been featured on several albums including Beyond, Sing About It, and KALA.

Satyaprakash Mishra is the son and disciple of critically acclaimed tabla artist Pandit Kalinath Mishra of the Benares Gharana. He has performed nationally and internationally as a soloist with esteemed artists such as Chitresh Das, Sunayana Hazarilal, Suresh Wadekar, Shankar Mahadevan and Anup Jalota. When he is not performing, Satyaprakash is working as an educator, training a new generation of students in the art of tabla through classes and workshops.

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