Anuradha Nag had her initial training from Nataraj Parimal Krishna and later from veteran gurus-the legendary Padmavibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj and his foremost disciple Pandit Vijai Shankar. She had advanced training in abhinaya from Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan, Smt. Chetna Jalan & Swapna Saswati Sen. She passed the Nritya Prabhakar with distinction at the tender age of 13. She stood 1st in the Pashchim Banga Nikhil Bharatiyo Competition. She taught Kathak at all levels at the Padatik Dance Center in Kolkata and choreographed for the school’s festivals. She has also worked with the mentally challenged children at the Manovikas Kendra for 5 years giving them the joy through dance. Before making USA her home she was a recommended artist for the Sangeet Natak Akademi as well as the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. She had the privilege of working with great gurus and choreographers such as Pt. Birju Maharaj, Smt. Kumudini Lakhia, Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan and Prof. Deitmar Seyffert of Germany. Anuradha has performed extensively in prestigious music conferences in India and in dance festivals throughout the world. She has choreographed many traditional and contemporary themes for the school shows, like Jhalkia, Om, Rituranga, Khoj, Chitrangshu (collection of small compositions), dance drama based on Rabindranath Tagore’s short story Kshuditopashan, Jeevandhara (life and works of Rabindranath Tagore), Panchapravaah and Kathak through the Bollywood Lane. Anuradha believes that dance develops concentration, discipline, concept of space, grace and poise. It establishes the ultimate connection between mind and body which leads to self-confidence and self-expression. This philosophy inspired Anuradha to establish Tarangini School of Kathak Dance in the San Francisco Bay area in 1992. The name was coined by the illustrious doyen of Kathak, Pt. Birju Maharaj himself. Since then, under the auspices of Tarangini School of Kathak Dance, Anuradha has been teaching and performing Kathak in the Bay area and beyond.

Ariaki Dandawate, born and brought up in New Jersey, has been studying Kathak under the discipleship of Guru Pandita Archana Joglekar for over 12 years. Having been exposed to the nuances, beauty, and prestigious lineage of Kathak by her guru from a young age, Aria has spent the past several years seriously pursuing every aspect of the art form. In 2014, Aria received her Visharad (Bachelors) degree from the SAMVED Exam Board, and in August of 2016 she presented her Rang Manch Pradarshan (solo performance). Her Visharad degree in Kathak has allowed her to study the essence of the Natya Shastra – a pillar of the arts – as well as become proficient in complex practical and theoretical applications of both Taal and Bhav Anga. In Kathak, Aria has taken part in many powerful performances presented by Archana Nrityalaya, such as ‘Lay Lalit Lalitya’ and ‘Rhythm of Life.’ She has also participated in various dance competitions held in the Tri-State area, winning first place on several occasions with teams from the academy. In the Tri-State area, Ariaki has performed at many events held by various cultural, religious, and philanthropic organizations. In July of 2015, Ariaki was a Top 5 Finalist in Zee TV’s Dance India Dance North America competition held in Mumbai, India. In the last year, Ariaki has taken examinership, sitting as examiner for many exams in both Kendall Park, New Jersey and Dallas, Texas under the SAMVED Exam Board. Apart from her rigorous trianing in Kathak, Ariaki is pursuing her academic interests, now entering her second year at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering where she is studying Biomolecular Science with a minor in Computer Science.

Tarangini School of Kathak will showcase four disciples of Auradha Nag including Shivalee Talati, Isha Salian, Nupur Gaidhani and Anupriya Nag. Shivalee Talati has been learning from Smt. Anuradha Nag for more than fifteen years and has represented Tarangini on prestigious platforms such as the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and the International Kathak Festival in Chicago. She has taken several workshops with Pandit Birju Maharajji. Shivalee received her B.S. in psychology from the University of California, Davis and is currently pursuing her master’s in applied psychology at USC. She has worked with children with mental disabilities and next hopes to work on inter-communication within companies. Isha Salian has been learning from Smt. Anuradha Nag since 2003 and has represented Tarangini in various performances including the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and the International Kathak Festival in Chicago. She has taken several workshops with Pandit Birju Maharajji. Isha has a B.A. in communication and English and a master’s in journalism from Stanford University. She works as a science and artificial intelligence writer at NVIDIA. Nupur Gaidhani has been learning from Smt. Anuradha Nag since she moved to the U.S. in 2016 and has taken workshops with Pandit Birju Maharajji. She previously had 8 years of training in Nashik India under Smt. Nivedita Chaurasiya. Nupur has a food sciences degree from K.K. Wagh Women’s Polytechnic in Nashik and a B.Tech degree in biotechnology from Sinhgad College of Engineering in Pune. Anupriya Nag has been learning from Smt Anuradha Nag for the past twelve years and has also taken workshops with Pandit Birju Maharaj. She has represented Tarangini all over the Bay Area and has performed at the International Kathak Festival in Chicago. Anupriya Nag is currently a junior at Pomona College studying International Relations and Political Science.