Noorani Dance staff & board

Internationally renowned performer, choreographer and instructor, Farah received her training for almost two decades from the late Pandit Chitresh Das. In 2016, Farah founded her own cultural arts organization, Noorani Dance.

In addition to her work as a the Artistic Director of Noorani Dance, Farah oversees all aspects of the administrative infrastructure and programs for the organization.
Learn more about Farah

Rabia Meghani (she/her) is a Medical Researcher, Behavioral Therapist, Educator, Yoga Therapist and a student of Kathak. Rabia’s formal education is in public health and epidemiology. Merging her knowledge of disease and the ancient science of Yoga and Ayurveda, Rabia aims to make these practices accessible to the masses while honoring the roots of the science. Her passion lies in harmonizing western medicine with eastern healing methodologies. 

Lakshmi, a trained Bharatnatyam dancer, fluent in several Indian languages is the School Administrator for Noorani Dance. She has about 8 years of Non profit experience working with youth at the India Community Center She has mentored and empowered summer camp counselors to become the best role models they can be for the younger generation. She has 2 daughters presently learning Kathak under Farah in the Noorani Dance School and would one day love to return back to dancing Kathak.

Trisha is an accomplished Kathak and Bollywood Dance Instructor, starting her Kathak journey in New Zealand under the guidance of her mother, Leena Chhaganlal. After her family relocated to Florida, Trisha followed her many interests at Rollins College in Arts and Dance. After pursuing further training in Kathak from Saveeta Sharma (Canada), Trisha started Orlando's first school offering dance classes in Kathak, Bollywood and Garba. Upon moving to the Bay Area, she has worked in Social Media Management with a focus in growing authentic connections online.

Ishika (she/her) is a South Asian choreographer, dancer, dance educator and writer based in the unceded lands of the Ohlone people (Bay Area).

Since 2007, Ishika has presented her work at various venues in and  around the Bay Area. She studied Indian Contemporary Dance, jazz, yoga and Mayurbhanj Chhau in India and had the opportunity to be a part of Santosh Nair’s company Sadhya. She came to the U.S. She obtained her B.A. in Dance from SJSU studying modern, jazz, ballet and choreography.

She was the Assistant Artistic Director of the Mona Khan Company from 2011-2021. 

Vidya is a Kathak dancer, filmmaker, and yoga practitioner. Although she grew up in Michigan, she spent 11 years in India, volunteering with Isha Foundation. She is an absolute lover and proponent of India’s rich heritage. She seeks to use film as a means to promote culture, yoga, and the arts. Vidya sees creative collaboration as an organic meeting of human hearts - a way towards creating a more harmonious humanity.

Bhumi is a queer, desi artist/activist who creates intersectional feminist, multidisciplinary art. Her work traverses dancing, choreographing, curating, educating, writing, and arts administration. She earned her MA in American Dance Studies from Florida State University and her MFA in Dance from Mills College. Patel is on faculty at West Valley College, Lone Mountain Children’s Center, and Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. Bhumi is a member of Cat Call Choir.

Iram Parveen Bilal is a Filmmaker, and a global content creator and enabler, who focuses on thought-provoking stories that are socially impactful and envision an inclusive world. Her third feature I’LL MEET YOU THERE just premiered in the narrative competition at South x Southwest. Iram is now focusing on TV directing and creating, and Iram’s Pilot, DETAINED, about two detained matriarchs in an ICE detention center, just made the top twenty un-produced, female written pilots’ list for WeForShe. Eager to raise while rising, Iram is an active mentor for women in film and tech. She believes genuine curiosity is the only antidote to fear.

Somya Chauhan, CPA, is an Indian-American business executive. She is currently in the Finance team at Alphabet Inc. where she leads a team that is responsible for the company’s global expenses, month close reporting and day-to-day operations. Somya has trained to be a career coach. She facilitates a leadership development program at Google and also offers one-on-one career coaching sessions. Prior to joining Google, Somya worked in corporate accounting at HP and prior to HP in the audit and advisory services at EY in Chicago and the Bay Area. Somya hosts Talks at Google Speaker Series bringing Googlers from around the globe face-to-face with today’s most prominent and innovative thought leaders including Darren J Gold, Bobbi Brown and Dylan Werner. Somya is on the board of California Society of CPAs that serves over 45,000 members and is an advisor to various non profits including GirlVentures and NextLevel. LinkedinInstagram

Iram Parveen Bilal is a Filmmaker, and a global content creator and enabler, who focuses on thought-provoking stories that are socially impactful and envision an inclusive world. Her third feature I’LL MEET YOU THERE just premiered in the narrative competition at South x Southwest. Iram is now focusing on TV directing and creating, and Iram’s Pilot, DETAINED, about two detained matriarchs in an ICE detention center, just made the top twenty un-produced, female written pilots’ list for WeForShe. Eager to raise while rising, Iram is an active mentor for women in film and tech. She believes genuine curiosity is the only antidote to fear.

Antara Bhardwaj began her study of kathak at the age of nine with kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, and has continued to pass the tradition of story-telling through dance and music with her own dance company and school, Antara Asthaayi Dance. In 2019, Bhardwaj was Honored as a Mosaic Silicon Valley Fellow for commitment to artistic excellence and strengthening community through multicultural arts. Her panache and magnetism have dazzled audiences throughout the U.S. and India, including a nationally televised performance in India, the creation of several world premiere performances throughout the Bay Area, as well as choreographing, performing, and cultural advising for Opera San Jose’s latest rendition of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” based in colonial India, as a part of her fellowship with Mosaic America. Always trying to reach audiences beyond the traditional, her lecture demonstration "Dancing Mathematics," highlights the complex mathematics in the Hindustani music system, and has been presented routinely by several museums and tech companies. She identifies herself as a story-teller - her mediums being kathak, film, and writing. As a filmmaker, her production Upaj:Improvise, a dance documentary, was televised nationally on PBS (2014), and is currently available on Amazon.  Bhardwaj continues to produce short dance films, while developing her mastery of taal (rhythm) under the mentorship of Sandeep Das (a Grammy-award winning artist with whom she regularly collaborates and tours), and mentoring over twenty-five young girls and women through the art form of kathak.