Munich-based choreographer Sandra Chatterjee holds a PhD in Culture and Performance from UCLA annd combines her interests of choreographing, writing, and creating platforms for exchange among emerging creative South Asian artists. In her choreography, Sandra draws primarily on her training in Bharata Natyam (with Malathi Iyengar and Arup Ghosh), and Kuchipudi (as a disciple of Ranga Vivekananda, Jaya Rama and Vanashree Rao). In addition, she has been trained in modern/postmodern dance, ballet, yoga and Polynesian dance. In 2006, she has performed across Europe and India, co-organized the Munich first festival for South Asian/German contenporary artists (art sensAsian Project), and published an article in Women And Performance.
Photo: Paula Roy-Burman
Moorty's work is influenced by her training in ballet, contemporary western dance, Bharata Natyam (disciple of Malathi Iyengar and Medha Yodh), various world folk dances, and theater. Her work with Sandra, Anjali and alone has been performed in various venues including Zilkah Hall in Houston, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Diasporadics Festival in New York and Carnegie Hall in West Virginia. Shyamala has also toured as a soloist for the Aman International Folk Ensemble and as a company member of Malathi Iyengar's Rangoli Dance Company. She teaches “Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Performance” at UCLA where she received her MFA in the Department of World Arts and Cultures. Her new solo work, “RISE,” was commissioned by TeAda Productions and she is currently featured on their touring artists' roster.
Photograph by Yischon Liaw.*
In her compositions, Sangita explores the intersections between film and dance. Sangita has studied Bharata Natyam under Smt. Malathi Srinivasan in Chennai , Charya Nritya (Nepalese Dance), Kalaripayat (South Indian martial art) and contemporary dance techniques. She belonged to the Boston-based Lasandhi Dance Theater and has also danced with Aparna Sindhoor’s Navarasa Dance Theater (Boston, MA) and the Dance Theater of Nepal (NYC). In 2003, Sangita received the Council for the Arts at MIT Wiesner award for her work in dance and new media. She was a guest choreographer for Constanza Macras/DorkyPark production "Big in Bombay“, supported by the the Berliner Festspiele/Spielzeit Europa, Schaubuehne am Lehniner Platz, and the Schauspielhaus Wien . "Big in Bombay“ premiered in Berlin, Germany in January 2005 and continues to tour globally. Focusing on the transnational dimensions of Hindi film (Bollywood), she is a co-organizer of the annual Prague Bollywood Festival and is currently pursuing a PhD at the Department of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA .
Photograph by Jiri Dundr
Anjali’s choreography is an ongoing exploration of Contemporary Indian dance as she draws from Bharata Natyam, hatha yoga, and modern/post-modern disciplines. A disciple of Viji Prakash, she toured throughout the U.S. and India from 1992-1996 as one of the principal dancers in Prakash’s Shakti Dance Company. Tata has choreographed several dance works, both traditional and contemporary, and has performed at various venues in Southern California. Most recently, she has presented her work at Artwallah, the World Festival of Sacred Music, the Long Beach Women’s Festival, Thousand Oaks Civic Center, Highways Performance Space and the Hollywood Bowl. Tata received her MFA from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures and currently teaches dance and yoga. She has recently been selected as one of Cirque du Soleil’s artists and will tour with the company.
Photo: Paula Roy-Burman