Soma Dasgupta is a versatile Indian classical dancer and a choreographer. She started learning dance at the early age of five and has been performing since the age of seven years. She got her training in Manipuri classical dance from Guru Khilendra Mukhapadhyay, a disciple of Guru Bipin Singh. Soma holds a Senior Diploma in Manipuri (with distinction) from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad. In addition, she is trained in Bharatanatyam (Senior Diploma with distinction from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad, India) and Kathak (Diploma from Bhatkhande, Lucknow, India)
Soma has been performing and teaching dance in North America, especially in Houston, for more than two decades alongside her career in the corporate sector and in academia. Her graceful performance has always left her audience mesmerized. She has received immense appreciation for her Manipuri dance performances. Soma has been instrumental in propagating this form of classical dance among the young generation. She also teaches Rabindrik dance incorporating the gracefulness of Manipuri form.
Soma was a regular performer for the National Television in India (Doordarshan), where she performed various classical and folk dances. She has performed in many venues of India including Vrindavan, Delhi, Lucknow, and Rajasthan. Incorporating her Bengali background, she has performed in Rabindrik dance at Shantiniketan during the dance festivals.
She has taken her students to perform at the North American Bengali Conference, Indian Cultural Center, Houston Durga Bari Society, Miller Outdoor Theatre, NRG stadium (Howdy Modi) and many more. She envisions propagating Manipuri dance form in the U.S. to a wider spectrum of audience.
Anindita Roy (anindita.sroy@yahoo.com) has an extensive background in various genres of Indian music including Hindusthani Classical, Semi-Classical, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti and Modern Hindi/Bengali music. She was born into a musical family and was introduced to Hindustani Classical music at an early age by her grandfather, Sri Nitya Gopal Roy who was a renowned music teacher in West Bengal. Later on, she took Hindustani Classical music lessons from Professor Achintya Roy Chowdhury of Kolkata, a senior disciple of Ustad Amir Khan Shahab of Indore Gharana. She learned Rabindra Sangeet and contemporary Bengali Music from Smt. Mandira Chatterjee, disciple of Smt. Kanika Banerjee. She moved to the USA in 2005 and later became a disciple of Padmashree Pta. Tripti Mukherjee, the senior most disciple of Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj and founder of Pandit Jasraj Institute of Music and Research,USA. She started performing at a very young age in various venues, participated in numerous competitions and won a number of awards, including intercollege and district level. She has also performed in different prestigious places in India and USA. She enjoys sharing her passion for music with the next generation Indian Americans and music loving adults. She is the artistic director of Alankaar School of Music which she founded in 2015. She is also a faculty in Pandit Jasraj Music Institute, New Jersey. She teaches all genres of Indian music, including classical, semi-classical, Rabindrasangeet, Nazrulgeeti and modern Hindi/Bengali music. She has students from all over the USA and teaches in-person in Fulshear, Katy, Houston and online. Anindita is married with two loving daughters. She strongly believes in treating kids with compassion and loves to engage them in the learning process. She seeks to equip students with the theoretical, compositional and performance skills to improve their overall confidence. Her goal is to help students read notations, get a good knowledge of rhythm and understand the language of music. Her training in western music helps her to connect with her younger students while emphasizing basic voice training and voice development.
The SAT Math Class in Kalabhavan is taught by Chandan Bhattacharjee, a former IIT-ian and an avid Math and Science teacher with a teaching experience of 21 years. Chandan comes from a family of teachers, and thus teaching comes naturally to him. He got engaged as a teacher from a tender age of 14 when he used to teach his friends in his pada for hours. This love for teaching blossomed with age, and after graduating from IIT, he opened a coaching institution in his house for nurturing young talents preparing for IIT exam in India. For the past 11 years, he has been teaching students in different grades (from Elementary school students to Post-Graduates) in Houston, Sugarland and Katy areas. Chandan has been an instructor of SAT Math class in Kalabhaban since 2019. He has successfully helped students prepare for SAT Math and come out with flying colors in the Exam. Chandan is known for his easy and fun-loving way of teaching advance topics, and he got accolades from students who loved to go back to his class to learn more Math from him! They not only learnt Math for the SAT Exam, but also developed a long-lasting interest to imbibe Math in their lives and career for years to come! Today, Chandan will present the highlights of his class and help us understand what he wants to achieve and give to the students in this class.
Suva Biswas (subiswas@yahoo.com) is a travelling IT consultant by profession and enjoys bridge as a favorite hobby. He started playing bridge in his student days (late 80s) in IIT Kharagpur but took many years off from playing the game. He has been playing professional tournaments in US since 2009. He was mentored by Sartaj Hans, a widely acclaimed bridge columnist and a regular member of Australian National Team. He is currently a Ruby Life Master under American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and has represented his Unit (Houston) and District (Texas) at National events. He is proud to be a member of District 16 (Texas) team that won Grand National Team B event in 2019 in Las Vegas National Championship. CONTACT Email: subiswas@yahoo.com, Phone: +1 (281) 236 6502
Rupchhanda Ghosh (ar_rup@yahoo.com) is a familiar name in Houston Durgabari Society. She is a key figure in educational (Bangla School) and cultural activities. She has been a very popular and successful Bangla school teacher for almost seven years. She also has a keen interest in acting, reciting, and directing dramas (for both kids & adults) in Durgabari’s cultural events since 2008. She has directed the kids in several dramas, namely, ‘Bheembadh’, ‘Lakshmaner Shaktishel’, ‘Khyatir Birambana’, ‘Maharaja Tomare Selam’, etc. under the banner of HDBS and ‘Kishalaya’. The kids always feel comfortable working with her and she always succeeds in getting the best out of them. Rupchhanda has performed in lead roles in several Bengali plays, including ‘Bhalomanush’, staged during NABC Houston, 2015, directed by famous director Debesh Chattopadhyay from Kolkata. She is an active volunteer in Durgabari and works with magazine committee of ‘Sharod Arghya’ and ‘Prabas Bandhu’ magazines. Rupchhanda had her formal training from famous elocutionist Smt. Bratati Bandyopadhyay. She is currently teaching Spoken Bangla, Recitation and Drama in HDBS Kalabhavan.
Supradipta Datta (dipta1@yahoo.com) has been a part of Kala Bhavan since its inception in 2007.
She is one of the senior most disciples of the renowned Odissi dancer Guru Smt. Aloka Kanungo. Her skills in Odissi have been further enhanced by the guidance of legendary maestros like Padmabibhushan Late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Smt. Aruna Mohanty, Guru Manoranjan Pradhan, Guru Smt. Sujata Mohapatra and Guru Ratikanta Mohapatra. She has the rare distinction of achieving the Sangeet Kriya Visharad in both the dance forms of Odissi and Bharatnatyam.
As a dancer Supradipta has performed in various prestigious festivals in India including the Khajuraho Festival, the Konarak Festival, the Puri Beach Festival. Her first introduction to the western world as a young dancer came through her Odissi performance which was featured by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in their documentary on Indian culture and Hinduism.
Supradipta moved to U.S.A. in 1997. Along with obtaining her Maters’ degree in Finance, she has continued to perform all around the U.S.A. in prestigious events like the 1st Odissi World Conference (at Washington D.C.), the North American Bengali Conference (NABC), and the North American Odissi Conference. She continues to perform, choreograph and collaborate with other renowned artists for various cultural shows, the latest ones being Chitram with Kanniks Kannikeswaran and Ananta with Sreyashi Dey and Arnab Bandyapadhyay.
In 2003, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra inaugurated her institution Kalaangan, a center of the performing arts, dedicated solely to Odissi. Since 2010, Kalaangan has been organizing a yearly dance festival called Alok Utsav (named after Supradipta’s Guru Smt. Aloka Kanungo) for young Odissi students. A second festival, Nrityanubhav is organized by Kalaangan to give platform to young Odissi dance professionals post their Ranga Praveshes.
By exposing this rich and elegant art of Odissi to its students while preserving its purity and traditional roots, Supradipta strives to instill a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment for every student. Performance recitals by her students are specially recognized for their grace, elegance and masterful technique.
Dolly Goyal (dreamgirl2106@yahoo.com) received 7 years of Kathak Training under my Guru late.Dr Madhuker Anand, who was the disciple of Legendry Pt. Birju Maharaj, Maestro in Kathak (Lucknow Gharana) creator of Kathak in the modern era & worship of all Kathak dancers.
My Guru Dr Madhuker Anand has done his PhD in Kathak, who was a combination of Kathak in Lucknow & Jaipur Gharana. He starts his early education in Kathak at the age of 5years from his father and there what he started never ends till he died in 2008 at the age of 40. His last master piece was a book on Pt. Birju Maharaj ji which has published and now in the Indian Market.
I have followed the same “Guru Shishaya Parumpapra”under Guru Lt Dr Madhuker Anand. I have got many opportunities to represent Kathak with my Guru in state and National level festivals.
I have completed my education of Kathak from school “Bhathkhande Sangeet Mahavidhayala” Dehradun a branch of Lucknow Bhathkhande Sangeet University.
Now a days attending different Kathak workshops organising by Kathak maestros to enhance and adding more interesting work in our dancing skills. Also gathering more knowledge about and working on “how to make classical classes more interesting for our young generation.
After 4 years of teaching Kathak in Singapore of all age groups from 5 to 50 years, now in Houston, trying to cultivate and spread knowledge about the culture and beauty of Indian classical dance Kathak to the next level.
As a member of a competitive dance team, I understand the importance of teamwork and leadership. I have come to realise that a team uses cooperative effort to achieve a common goal.
I believe a dancer is someone who is generally admired. They are looked upon as people who strive for perfection.
Kathak is a way to communicate with people and it should be respected and honored. I feel it is beautiful, exciting and inspiring. I can never get bored with it because there is always room to improve.
While performing on stage, everything is really intense however, I strive for excellence. To stand out on stage at the end of the performance, and to know you thrilled the audience is an incredible feeling.Personally, I have worked very hard to become the best dancer possible. In the process, I have earned the respect of my family, friends, fellow dancers and students.
I cannot imagine my life without dance, an art that I considers as my “child” and the essence of my existence, my passion. Dance has made me a better person. I enhance my strength, courage and confidence.
Arpita Mukhopadhyay (arpitamukhopadhyay@hotmail.com) is the founder of the Payal School of Dance, started learning Bharatanatyam at the age of five with Devjani Chatterjee and completed her graduation degree in Bharatanatyam from Prayag Sangeet Samitte, Allahabad, India, when she was twelve years old. She also holds a diploma in Bharatanatyam and Rabindra Nritya from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh.
Her quest for learning different aspects of Bharatnatyam continued and she took rigorous training from Pinaki Chowdhury and Kalamandalam Venkit . Arpita learned Creative Dance from the Ananda Shankar Dance Academy. She also took lessons in different regional folk dances from various workshops conducted in different states of India. She was also a member of a dance group in Calcutta and performed all over India and participated in television programs. Arpita had a natural flair for choreography from an early age. A dance choreographed by her at the age of 18 was televised by the Doordarshan of Kolkatta.
Arpita has more than twenty years of experience as a dance teacher. She started teaching dance at different cultural organizations from 1988 and also worked as a dance teacher at the Ryan International school in New Delhi and also ran a dance school at Calcutta , Delhi and now in Katy.
Kaushik Chakraborty (kchak09@gmail.com) has a passion to Art since his childhood and was one of the student of great painter sculptor Late Shambhu Nath Ghosh of ‘Kumartuli’ Kolkata.
He is an energetic and enthusiastic Art Instructor with outstanding presentation and curriculum development skill; knowledgeable in various forms arts including specialty in pencil sketches and shading.
He is highly proactive, creative, and familiar with art history and art genres who inspires students to explore creativity in them and use it as a medium of self-expression.
Dr. Raja (Tathagata) Banga (tbanga@hotmail.com) has been a very well-known tabla player in the Houston music arena for last 20 years. His music school at Katy highlights world percussion and was covered by Houston Chronicle in 2009. Raja was awarded Sangeet Visharad at a very young age, and has been a disciple of none other than the tabla wizard Pandit Anindo Chatterjee. He has performed with many well-known musicians in India and US including Ustad Ashish Khan, Pandit Keshav Ginde, Dr. Paul Katz, Amit Kumar, Abbos Kosimov, Rekha Surya, Dhananjay Kaul et al. Currently he also teaches various drums at Arya Samaj of Houston. He has served as the President of Tagore Society of Houston (2008-2011) and pioneered numerous collaborative projects with esteemed organizations such as UH, Asia Society, Museum of Fine Arts, India Culture Center, Bangladesh Association of Houston etc. He currently serves at the Board of Directors of Tagore Society of Houston and designs various cultural events for TSH. He also grooms the young performers of Tagore Society Youth Orchestra (https://youtu.be/e5znwHuj7ZA)
Rajnita Bandyopadhyay (rajnitab@gmail.com) is an A grade artist of All India Radio Mumbai and Kolkata and was a regular artist of Doordarshan when she was in India. She started her music performance at childhood in Radio and Doordarshan and also one of the finalists of first Bengali reality show by Zee Bangla in 1996. She has performed in Tara Club, Tara TV, Rupashi Bangla, Doordarshan etc in recent times.
Music Albums: She has many music and video albums to her credit. She released a music video album with Nachiketa couple of years back. She also released a CD with Bratati Bandyopadhyay and Shraboni Sen. Few years back, she had opportunity to record her first film music with renowned music director Late Mrinal Bandyopadhyay. It was the last film music direction by Mrinalji. She had few more waiting to be released.
Performances: Rajnitaji performed in various cities in India and USA including Kolkata, Mumbai, Houston, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Tulsa etc and several NABCs.
Rajnitaji received her training in classical music from Pundit Prasun and Meera Bandyopadhyay, disciples of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb and also from Ustad Munawar Ali Khan Saheb, son of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb. She also learned music from Sri Jatileshwar Muljerjee, Smt Purabi Dutta and Sri Sukumar Mitra for decades.
Rajnitaji is very well known classical and semi classical singer in USA and Kolkata. She has established one of the best known classical music schools in Houston – Saptak School of Music.
Kamalpriya Roy (kamroy292@gmail.com) Born and grown up in the open, natural and cultural environment of Santiniketan, Smt. Kamalpriya Roy earned her Masters degree in Sanskrit from the University of Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan. She learned Rabindra Sangeet under the tutelage of one of the most authentic and renowned teachers of Rabindra Sangeet, the late Prof. Nilima Sen. Ever since, Rabindra Sangeet and Rabindranath’s dance-dramas and literature became her passion.
Experience
Accompishments
One of the most celebrated and authentic Rabindra Sangeet singers, and teachers in the Houston area – more than 25 years of teaching experience in Rabindra Sangeet
Rendered the overall music direction and taught Rabindra Sangeet for a group of 35 participants for the program “Bandhan Bhangar Sadhaney Rabi” for the 2012 Durga Pujo which was highly acclaimed by the audiences
Orchestrated the overall music direction and taught the songs from dance-drama Chitrangada for the participants on Tagore’s sesquicentennial birth anniversary celebrated by the Tagore Society of Houston (TSH) in 2011
Undertook the lead role for the Rabindra Sangeet segment of Saptasura at the HDBS Durga Pujo 2010
Undertook the lead role for the Tagore Musical soire for the Kali Pujo night (2010) at Durgabari where the celebrities Partha and Gouri Ghosh participated in recitation
Extensively performed songs and dances in many cities of India , UK and US, e.g. Santiniketan, Kolkata (Rabindra Sadan, Academy of Fine Arts and Belvedere Gardens), Durgapur, Asansole, New Delhi (Kamani Auditorium), Peterborough (UK), Dallas, Little Rock, Memphis, South Jersey and Houston
Directed and choreographed the “Shapmochon”, one of the finest dance-dramas of Tagore in Houston in 1996. This dance-drama had a participation of more than thirty (30) singers, dancers and musicians from within the community
While instructed for the old Bangla Pathshala of Houston for songs and dances during 2001-2003, the school received the best award for performance among the 27 groups of competitors for the Indian Independence Day Celebration in 2002.
Education
Personal
