Meet Our Instructors
We are proud to have very dedicated, well trained and experienced teachers to provide you high-quality training.
Manali Awasthi
Dance Teacher
I teach Classical Bharatnatyam Dance. I have performed my Arangeteram in the year 1992 under the tutelage of my Guru Ms. Jayshree Vasudevan in affiliation to the Music Triangle Institute located in Santacruz, Bombay.
I have also learned Kathak about two years under Mr. Inder Kumar before I moved on to learning Bhaatnatyam. The total training period for learning Bharatnatyam has been around seven plus years for me.
The student under me would start their journey to learning the classical dance by first learning the basic steps (the Adavus), progressing to Nritya and Natya with emphasis on the abhinaya. Every session we will also focus on learning the various hastas (hand gestures). The gradual progression makes sure the students get familiar with the basics and enjoy their dance as they learn the Allaripu, Tillana, Jatiswaram, Varnam, Sabdam and Padam. In addition, the school is affiliated with Prayag Institute in India and the students will also have the opportunity to take examination with them and earn certificates. The goal is to have the students perform their Aerengeteram when they ready!
Tanu Shrivastav
Dance Teacher
For the past two decades, Ms. Tanu Shrivastav has been teaching Kathak dance, specifically the Lucknow Gharana style. She serves as faculty and a board member at the India Spiritual and Cultural Center. Under her guidance, many of her students have successfully completed the rigorous 8-year dance certification program from Prayag Sangeet Samiti in Allahabad. Tanu herself has a Prabhakar (Graduate Diploma) in both Kathak and Tabla. Furthermore, she holds a Master of Science degree, specializing in Food Science and Nutrition, from Delhi University. She is also the founder of strive2succeed, a college admissions guidance service. Tanu received her classical dance training under the expert guidance of her mother, Mrs. Manju Srivastava, who was a student of Pt. Keshav Anand Sharma, a disciple of Pt. Achchan Maharaj ji.
Vishwas Shirgaonkar
Music Teacher
Vishwas Shirgaonkar is a Hindustani Classical vocalist, performer, and teacher. He has been presenting concert performances in India and the US over the last 30 years. He has performed in prestigious venues in Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, New Delhi, Bhubaneshwar, Kundgol, and Nagpur as well as in the Smithsonian Institution and other venues in the US and the UK. In addition to concerts, Vishwas has also presented lecture-demonstrations on Hindustani Classical Music and special stylistic features of the Jaipur gharana at University music departments and private music academies in India.
His CDs have been published by Mystic Music and Bihaan Music, both well known music labels in India.
Vishwas Shirgaonkar received his initial musical training from Pt. Anant Kogaje and Pt. Yeshwantbua Joshi, both stalwarts of the Gwalior gharana. Subsequently he received extensive training from Pt. Anandrao Limaye of Kolhapur, and Pt. Ratnakar Pai of the Jaipur/Atrauli gharana.
Vishwas Shirgaonkar also received guidance in the Marathi Abhangs from Pt. Appasaheb Deshpande (Nutan Gandharva), Kolhapur, and during his early years, learned tabla from Pt. Prabhakar Desai of Nagpur
He is currently serving as President, India International Spiritual & Cultural Center, Virginia, USA, where he also teaches Hindustani Classical vocal music.
Vishwas holds an M.S. in Systems Management and a B.E. (Electrical Engineering) and has retired from a successful career in the World Bank managing its financial and administrative systems
Gopika Sinha
Music Teacher
Hindustani classical.
Arpita Sabud
Dance Teacher
Oddissi Dance.
Sreedevi Vemuri
Music Teacher
Sreedevi comes from a traditional family with penchant towards Carnatic Music right from her childhood. She has great Passion towards teaching music and Community upbringing. She has been teaching classes for more than 15 years to students of all ages, at the facility or remote, with great feedback and appreciation.
Sreedevi also participates in various cultural events and coordinates performances for students.In addition to this, Sreedevi also drives kids to take part in Certification Program which is good for their academic career. Currently teaching Carnatic Music at ISCC for all ages.
Jay Parikh
Music Teacher
Tabla.
Jitendra Swain
Music Teacher
Tabla.
Shreyas Ravi
Music Teacher (Harmonium)
Shreyas Ravi is a senior disciple notable sitarist Pt. Ravi Chary. He has given numerous Harmonium & keyboard Solo & Duet performances across India & USA. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Pt. Vishu Digambar Paluskar Award & Pt. Omkarnath Thakur Award. Along with a thoughtful and robust solo, he as also been regularly accompanying vocal and tabla artists on the harmonium & keyboard. Some of the notable ones include:
1) Pt. Anindo Chatterjee
2) Vidushi Aarti Ankalikar Tikekar
3) Pt. Shubhankar banerjee
He has taken tremendous efforts in balancing his academic career and harmonium training. After completing his MBA, currently he has been working as a management consulting in the US.
Saikantha Raparla
Dance Teacher
Kuchipudi Dance.
Seema Shah
Music Teacher
Hindustani Vocals.
Padmini Sampat
Language Teacher.
Hindi.
Astha Naval
Language Teacher
Hindi.
Vinita Tiwari
Language Teacher
Hindi.
Kavita Permesar
Language Teacher
Hindi.
Anjali Sharma
Yoga Teacher.
Anjali received her Yoga Instructor certification in 2001 through the S-VYASA University in Bangalore, India, and Children’s Yoga certification in 2014.
Classes are woven with asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), meditation, games, stories and much more!
Poonam Salona
Yoga Teacher
Yoga.
Nikita
Bollywood Dance Teacher
Dance is her passion, her identity. Nikita has been dancing to Bollywood songs since age 5. She has learnt Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi and also western dances such as hip hop, jazz, free style from Shiamak Davar’s Institute in Mumbai. While in the US, she was a part of professional dance troupe and has been an assitant teacher at Arya Dance Academy.
Our Partners
Passionate About Teaching?
We will be glad to welcome you to our faculty team. Please contact us to make an appointment to meet us in person.