At Nritya Creations we respect diverse, ethnic dance styles and strive to keep the authenticity and proper grammar of each dance form whether it is Bharata Natyam, Indian Folk, or other Indian Classical form and Western techniques such as Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, and Hip-Hop. We believe each form of dance requires specific skills, expertise, and proper respect and thus no one teacher can be an expert to teach all diverse dance forms. Therefore members of our highly qualified teaching staff have specialized focus areas of dance expertise and certification to teach our students the correct grammar and authenticity of each unique and different style. We have teachers who are experts in teaching Bharata Natyam, Creative Classical, Manipuri, Folk, and Uday Shankar Style and also teachers with their Bachelor’s Degree in Dance teaching Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Modern. Our teachers collaborate with each other in creating award-winning Bollywood and contemporary choreographies that blend the various styles. We also continuously offer specialized workshops to our students in various global dance styles which are taught by world-renowned dance experts.
President and Founder
Meena Basu Nag is the founder and Artistic Director of Nritya Creations. She has been teaching classical dance, choreographing, and directing dance productions for Nritya Creations since 1994. Meena has received her formal training in various styles of Indian Dance including Bharatanatyam and Manipuri/Tagore/Uday Shankar styles of Dance from several Gurus. She received her formal training in Bharatanatyam from a world-renowned Bharatanatyam exponent and late Actress Padmini in the USA. Meena has choreographed and presented dance programs and dance dramas for numerous cultural events in USA and Canada including AT&T, Lucent and IBM Asian Heritage Programs, North American Bengali Conferences, Rabindranath Tagore Festivals, Indian and International Dance Cultural Programs, Dance Competitions, and Charity Fundraisers. In addition to leading Nritya Creations, Meena pursues a career as a Business Development Director in the Telecommunications and IT sector and holds a BSEE and MSEE in Electrical Engineering.
Operations Manager (Billing/Administration)
Originally from Old Bridge, New Jersey, Nirali is currently situated in Melbourne, Australia. Nirali took her first step towards dance at the age of 6 in India through inter-school competitions. In addition, she has Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Rowan University and an Associate degree in Criminal Justice- Correction Administration from Middlesex County College. She is currently pursuing Juris Doctor from Monash University. To continue her passion for classical dances, she joined Nritya Creations in 2017 as a Bharatnatyam student. She is currently pursuing Arangetram in Bharatnatyam under the tutelage of Guruji Tatyana Popova.
Bharatanatyam, Ballet, Fusion
Tatyana Popova comes from the multicultural city Almaty, Kazakhstan, located in the heart of Central Asia. Tatyana has bachelor’s degrees from three different universities of dance. Since taking her first dance steps at age of six, she has continued her trajectory across the world, taking part in different companies and training in prestigious dance academies including the J. Elebekov Music and Dance Academy in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where she strove to perfect her interpretations of Russian,Kazakh and World character dances & ballet. Her passion for dance led her to train in Indian classical dance, known as Bharatanatyam at the University of fine arts Rukmini Devi Arundale “Kalakshetra”–the birthplace of Bharatanatyam. When Tatyana completed her studies at the Kalakshetra School of Dance, she next traveled to Sevilla, Spain, to enroll in the Matilde Coral School of Dance to train in Spanish dance and Flamenco; she also studied at the Manuel Betanzo Flamenco Academy. Throughout her career, Tatyana has been invited by numerous dance companies to perform with them and has been a part of national and international productions. Lastly, Tatyana holds a certificate from the “Bolshoi Ballet” for teaching classical ballet. She has experience in teaching different dance disciplines for over 15 years. Tatyana has been a leading dance instructor of Bharatanatyam in Nritya Creations Academy of Dance for the past 8 years.
Kathak, Kathak Fusion
Ruee Gawarikar is a Kathak and contemporary dancer, choreographer, art and dance instructor, and visual artist based in New Jersey. She started her training in “Kathak”, a classical dance style from northern India, under the tutelage of the renowned dancer Shrimati Prabhatai Marathe, of the “Kala Chaya Institute of Dance”. She continued her education in the US under the guidance of Pandit Satya Narayan Charka. She also holds a B.F.A. in Painting and a Diploma in Art Education. Ruee has been a company artist with ‘Surati’, ‘The East-West School of Dance’ and “Kala Chhaya”. Being a versatile dancer, Ruee has been part of several major productions like the Kathak ballet ‘Shanti Mantra’, ‘Ramayan’, “Tyohaar-Festivals of India” and ‘Krishna Leela’. She has performed extensively in India and the US, in prestigious venues like the Ganesh Festival of Pune, Achchan Maharaj Mahotsav at the Kamani auditorium in Delhi, World Financial Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Times Square, and the Indian Consulate in New York. Ruee is also a choreographer, working in both traditional and contemporary dance forms. She likes to experiment with various art styles and media, which is evident in her innovative and inspiring choreography at Nritya Creations.
Kathak
Diditi Mitra is trained in Kathak. Diditi began her training in Kathak at a very young age in Mallhar school of dance and music, Calcutta. In the United States, her initial training was with Janaki Patrik, followed by Satyanarayan Charka and subsequently, Pallabi Chakravorty. Diditi also trains with Sanjay Bhattacharya whenever she is in Calcutta. Previously, Diditi was a member of Courtyard Dancers, a Philadelphia-based dance-theater group. As a member of Courtyard Dancers, Diditi has had the privilege of training with Gurus Bandana Sen and Kumudini Lakhia. She has performed widely in the United States. Additionally, Diditi has a doctoral degree in Sociology from Temple University and teaches at Brookdale Community College. She continues to instill the discipline and structure of the art form in her students.
Semi-Classical, Bollywood Fusion, Bollywood
Serita has been dancing since she was four years old. In addition to taking recreational ballet and Bollywood classes, she was taught classical dance by her mother which she performed at family and religious functions. In 2006, Serita joined the Nritya Creations Academy of Dance where she learned Bharatnatyam and Western dance styles from gurus Meena Basu Nag, Amanda Daley, and Tatyana Popova. She performed and competed with Nritya Creations at various award-winning dance competitions throughout middle and high school. Serita also assisted the school during competitions with costumes and props as well as marketing at events. In college, Serita joined the Rutgers/NJIT Ehsaas South Asian fusion dance team and the NJIT dance team where she continued to perform and compete in various styles of dance from Bollywood and Indian Classical dance styles to Contemporary and Hip Hop dance styles. Currently, Serita teaches Bollywood Fusion dance classes at Nritya Creations and manages the NCPC Alumni Professional dance team that performs at paid gigs and events.
Indo-Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz Fusion, Hip-Hop, Bollywood Fusion
Melanie has been dancing for 20 years. She started competitively dancing at age seven. Melanie has performed in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Pointe, Contemporary/Lyrical, Hip-hop, Musical Theater, and Modern dance. She completed her degree for her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Bachelor of Science in Sports Management at Rutgers University. During her time at Mason Gross School of the Arts she has been professionally trained in Ballet, Improvisation, Pilates, Afro-American Fusion, Yoga, and different Modern techniques, including Horton, Gaga, and Graham. She also has completed studies in Laban Movement Analysis, kinesiology, and dance composition to enhance her teaching abilities for her students. Melanie has performed work from professional choreographers during her time at Rutgers as well as student work, including dancing with the Rutgers Performing Dance Company. Melanie teaches Ballet/Contemporary and Bollywood Fusion. She also works with Nritya Creations to fuse the styles of ballet, jazz, and contemporary with Bharatanatyam, to create award-winning competition dances for Nritya Creations Performing Company.