Toronto-based Tanveer Alam began his Kathak training with Sudeshna Maulik and continued his nuanced studies with guru Sandhya Desai. He is a 2019 graduate of Western contemporary dance from the Dance Arts Institute of Canada (DAI).

Alam has performed in works by Rina Singha, Lata Pada, Padmini Chettur, Brandy Leary, Harikishan S. Nair, Sashar Zarif, Lucy Rupert, and Peter Chin, to name a few. As an emerging choreographer, he has presented work at SummerWorks Festival, Battery Dance Festival+, MAI – Montréal, arts interculturels, CanAsian Dance Festival: Grit Short Dances, and Tangente. As an emerging curator, he has supported programming initiatives with Dancemakers, TOES FOR DANCE, and the Flemingdon Park Toronto Public Library.

Throughout the 2024–25 season, Alam performed solo presentations at Vilaya Festival (Pittsburgh), The New York Kathak Festival (New York), and Navatman Black Box Baithak (New York). He was a commissioned choreographer for Sampradaya Dance Creations’ 35th anniversary work, Salaam Rahman, featuring A.R. Rahman’s oeuvre performed by the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, he premiered his collaborative work Ibaadat with co-choreographer Barkha Patel at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (Mumbai).

Daksh Raj is a President’s Award–winning classical and ghazal vocalist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Based in Canada, he studied jazz music at Humber College and has contributed to Broadway productions, musical dramas, dance dramas, and Kathak dance recitals.

With a deep love for poetry and ghazals, Daksh has launched several artistic projects. He co-founded Saksham Daksh, a duo dedicated to promoting ghazal and classical music. Their original composition, Raagmala Samaychakra, won the Indian Independent Music Award in 2023. He is also a founding member of the Kalakaar Collective, an artist-led group that blends Indian classical music with Bollywood jazz, qawwali, and ghazals.

Ramona Sylvan has been studying tabla for 25 years under the guidance of Ustad Mohan Singh Dahaley and now continues her training with Ustad Sattar Tari Khan. Her musical roots lie in the Punjab Gharana, with a lineage tracing back to her Parama-Guru, Ustad Mian Qadir Baksh.

Ramona’s exposure to various gharanas, including Delhi and Benares, has shaped her versatile style. She has performed solo and has accompanied artists on vocals, flute, sitar, and sarangi. Guided by her guru’s blessings, she continues to share her passion for tabla through her performances.

Gandhaar Amin began learning Indian classical music from his father, Nitin Amin, at the age of four. By eight, he was already touring with his father, and he began his journey as a solo performer at twelve. Those early years immersed in the world of Indian classical music helped him build a strong melodic foundation for his musical exploration.

It was during college that Gandhaar started exploring musical traditions from around the world. He spent several years playing in bands and recording with producers across India, eventually discovering his unique sound, a blend of traditional Indian melodic composition and modern electronic music production.

Since then, Gandhaar has released multiple albums and singles, while also producing music for other indie artists. He has composed background scores and songs for television and film for over a decade. Notably, he collaborated as a co-composer on the debut music album by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Inner World.

Gandhaar performs this fresh and distinctive sound either as a solo act or with a band. He has played at festivals and private events across India, and has recently relocated to Toronto, Canada, looking to cater to the diverse tastes of western, urban audiences.

Sukriti Sharma began her Kathak training under Guru Sh. Ashok Chakraborty and further honed her skills under Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Guru Sh. Krishan Mohan Mishra. She completed a rigorous Post Diploma program at Kathak Kendra in New Delhi and holds a degree from Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh.

A graded artist with Delhi Doordarshan, Sukriti has several years of teaching experience in both India and Canada. She has performed at prestigious festivals such as Kathak Mahotsava, Khajuraho Festival, and Vasantotsava, showcasing her talent alongside renowned artists.

Sukriti has been an integral part of Padma Shri Smt. Shovana Narayan’s repertoire ASAVARI and has contributed to various productions led by esteemed gurus. Her notable achievements include participating in the Choreographic Mentorship Program by Sampradaya Dance Creations, presenting her solo debut at the festival Momentum, and touring India with the production Mandala. Most recently, she contributed to the creative project Muhandis by Tanveer Alam.

Ranganathan Rajan is originally from India and is currently based in Tkaronto. He is a contemporary dance performer and choreographer whose work explores themes of stress, resilience, and strength in the body through object work, movement, and mixed media.

Ranganathan graduated from the Professional Training Program at Dance Arts Institute Canada (2025) and holds a Diploma in Movement Art and Mixed Media from the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts in Bangalore, India (2021). His practice is rooted in socially engaged art, using people as the medium and emphasizing participation and collaboration.

Surej Surendra is originally from Kerala, India, and is currently based in Tkaronto. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from MS University of Baroda and is currently training as a dancer and performer at Dance Arts Institute.

Engaging with spatial interventions, his most recent project in India was an installation titled Perspiration at the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad. The work allegorized a “sweating wall,” integrating materials directly into the architecture to create an organic, responsive relationship between form and space.

Continuing along this line, Surej is interested in creating dance works within gallery and exhibition settings, a white cube, where movement scores emerge from material environments such as walls and architectural features.

Purawai Vyas is an emerging dance artist with 20 years of training in Bharatanatyam under Guru Lata Pada at Sampradaya Dance Academy. She has also trained in ballet, modern/contemporary dance, and Kalarippayattu during her undergraduate studies. Purawai holds an Honours BFA in Dance and a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from York University.

She has had the opportunity to work with acclaimed choreographers including Lata Pada, Atri Nundy, Neena Jayarajan, Suma Nair, Seeta Patel, Parshwanath Upadhye, and Nova Bhattacharya. Her performance credits include Svaha!, Sankhya, and Mandala, the latter of which toured seven cities in India.

Purawai has created and presented works at several festivals across the Greater Toronto Area, including CanAsian Dance’s Grit Short Dances, Citadel’s Night Shift and Spring Mix, and Toes For Dance’s Common Ground Festival, among others. She is passionate about sharing the art of Bharatanatyam as a dance teacher at Sampradaya Dance Academy.

As an independent artist, Purawai is interested in interdisciplinary rhythmic exchange and is exploring narratives from Indian mythology in innovative ways to create new dance works.

Rohee Uberoi is an emerging movement practitioner from India, currently residing in Tkaronto. Though North Indian by heritage, she grew up learning Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form of South India, and calls Maharashtra home. Migration within India for education and work has been an integral part of her journey.

Rohee holds a Bachelor’s degree in Literary and Cultural Studies and a Diploma in Movement Arts and Mixed Media. She is currently studying contemporary dance at Dance Arts Institute in Canada.

Rohee enjoys creating and interpreting within collaborative processes that allow her to share her knowledge and evolving practice. She is also deeply engaged with film, writing, and discourses related to history.