Mihika Kashyap : Kathak Dancer

Mihika Kashyap was born and brought up in Toronto, Canada. Mihika has always had a passion for dance from her childhood. She began her journey as a Kathak dancer at the age of five at Disha Arts Academy and has received training for 15 years, under the discipline and guidance of her teacher Ms. Vrinda Bhagwat. Mihika has attended numerous dance workshops with Maulik Shah. She has performed in many dance performances for Disha Arts academy – Mausam (1997), Vividha (2004). She has also performed in Nupoor Dance Creations productions of -Naivedya (2007), Prem (2009).  In 2010, she performed in Kathak Mahotsav in Toronto. She is a graduate in System Engineering from University of Waterloo.

 

 

 

 

Keshia Sooknanan : Kathak Dancer

Keshia started her training in Kathak at Disha Arts Academy at the age 13 where received rigorous training from Vrinda Bhagwat for over 15 years. In addition she has had the privilege of participating in workshops conducted by renowned dancers Shri Pratap Pawar and Maulik Shah.  Keshia took part in a wide range of Disha Arts Academy performances such as Mausam (1997) and Vividha (2004). She performed in Nupoor Dance Creations productions such as Naivedya (2007), Prem (2009),Pancha Tattva (2011) and Paths To Love( 2012). She has also had the opportunity to work with classical vocalist Rajkumar Rizvi in "The River Flows" (2002), a fusion performance performed at the Royal Ontario Museum.  She performed in Kathak Mahotsav in Toronto in 2010, 2011 and recently in 2012. Keshia is an elementary school teacher by profession. She also is an assistant teacher at Disha Arts academy.

 

 

 

Smita Kesarkar : Kathak Dancer

Smita began her journey in dance from an early age and has since learned and performed various forms of folk dances of India as well as Bollywood dance on a regular basis. Her formal training in the Indian classical dance form of Kathak began six years ago at Disha Arts Academy in Toronto, under the able guidance of Ms. Vrinda Bhagwat. She has also attended intensive annual summer workshops taught by Sri Maulik Shah - an acclaimed Kathak dancer from India. She has been participating in the academy’s annual showcases and major dance productions such as ‘Naivedya-an offering’ and ‘Prem-the mystery of Love’ as well as in noted community events such as ‘Kathak Mahotsav Canada’, ‘Panorama India’ etc.

She is a York university graduate in Psychology. She is also taking training in Indian classical music. She plans to continue to further explore Kathak and other dance styles in future.

Akshina Taploo : Kathak dancer

Akshina has been learning Kathak for last 12 years at Disha Arts Academy under the guidance of Vrinda Bhagwat. She is currently a 2nd year student at the University of Western Ontario. She is a versatile dancer who has given many solo performances in classical Kathak and is very much liked by the audience. She has participated in many dance productions of Disha Arts Academy. Akshina has been performing with the Nupoor Dance Company for the last three years. She participated in 2009 “Prem”, in 2011 “Pancha Tattva” (The Five Elements), and in 2012 “Paths To Love”. Her goal is to be a reputed Kathak dancer.