Noorani Dance Administrative Staff
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, Founder & Director
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, Founder & Director
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, Founder & Director
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.
Learn more about Farah
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Annika Presley, Company Manager
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, Founder & Director
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, Founder & Director
Originally from the Netherlands, Annika Presley has over 12 years experience in non-profit arts administration supporting the brilliant artistry and vision of companies such as AXIS, Imagery, and Noorani Dance. She is the Managing Director at Amy Seiwert's Imagery, Company Manager at Noorani Dance, and proud mother of an adorable toddler.
Bhumi Patel, Administrative Manager
Lakshmi Ravi, School Administrative Coordinator
Lakshmi Ravi, School Administrative Coordinator
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
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.
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Lakshmi Ravi, School Administrative Coordinator
Lakshmi Ravi, School Administrative Coordinator
Lakshmi Ravi, School Administrative Coordinator
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 generatio
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.
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Shubhra Mathur, Special Projects Manager
Shubhra Mathur, Special Projects Manager
Shubhra Mathur, Special Projects Manager
Prior to being the Special Projects Manager at Noorani Dance, Shubhra Mathur was the Youth Programs Manager at India Community Center, managing the planning and execution of classes, camps and other initiatives for youth. Shubhra speaks fluent German besides English and Hindi and hopes to return to learning Kathak someday.
Kai Davis, Administrative Assistant
Shubhra Mathur, Special Projects Manager
Shubhra Mathur, Special Projects Manager
Before working with Noorani Dance, Kai Davis was a professional ballerina, performing with world renowned dance companies. Since retiring from the stage she now trains & coaches pre-professional dancers and teaches the ballet program at The School of the Arts in San Francisco. Kai is excited to support Noorani Dance behind the curtains as the administrative assistant.
Athena Nair, Instructor
Sreoshi Sarkar, Instructor
Sreoshi Sarkar, Instructor
Athena grew up in an environment enriched by the classical arts of South Asia, beginning her own training at the age of 5 at Pandit Das' institution, Chhandam, and receiving direct training from Farah since 2016. She has studied Kathak, Odissi and vocal music. A member of the Noorani Dance Company, Athena completed her kathak solo in 2019
Athena grew up in an environment enriched by the classical arts of South Asia, beginning her own training at the age of 5 at Pandit Das' institution, Chhandam, and receiving direct training from Farah since 2016. She has studied Kathak, Odissi and vocal music. A member of the Noorani Dance Company, Athena completed her kathak solo in 2019. Now in her first year at Tufts College, Athena continues to pursue her various artistic paths, alongside continuing to train in Kathak, and now as an instructor as well, at Noorani Dance.
Sreoshi Sarkar, Instructor
Sreoshi Sarkar, Instructor
Sreoshi Sarkar, Instructor
Sreoshi Sarkar has a deep rooted passion for dance and visual art. She began her study of dance at age 5 at the Chhandam School of Kathak, founded by the late Pandit Chitresh Das and has been training with Farah directly since 2015. A member of the Noorani Dance Company, Sreoshi completed her kathak solo in 2018, and has been assisting a
Sreoshi Sarkar has a deep rooted passion for dance and visual art. She began her study of dance at age 5 at the Chhandam School of Kathak, founded by the late Pandit Chitresh Das and has been training with Farah directly since 2015. A member of the Noorani Dance Company, Sreoshi completed her kathak solo in 2018, and has been assisting and teaching classes since 2016. Sreoshi has been instrumental in developing new curriculum for the children's classes at Noorani Dance. Sreoshi will be attending Barnard College next year.
Noorani Dance Board of Directors
Reena Kapoor, President
Kanthi Sarkar, Secretary/Treasurer
Kanthi Sarkar, Secretary/Treasurer
Reena is a seasoned product leader, having led product management teams in Silicon Valley for nearly 20 years. Before that Reena led brands at Procter & Gamble and Kraft Foods. Reena has a B.Tech in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a Master’s degree from Northwestern University. Reena also enjoys being an act
Reena is a seasoned product leader, having led product management teams in Silicon Valley for nearly 20 years. Before that Reena led brands at Procter & Gamble and Kraft Foods. Reena has a B.Tech in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a Master’s degree from Northwestern University. Reena also enjoys being an active mentor to several start-ups and social enterprises. When not working Reena enjoying gardening, writing poetry and photography. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband, teenager and two adorable Labradoodles! You can learn more about her here: LinkedIn
Kanthi Sarkar, Secretary/Treasurer
Kanthi Sarkar, Secretary/Treasurer
Kanthi Sarkar, Secretary/Treasurer
Kanthi Sarkar first met Farah Yasmeen Shaikh in 2007. Farah was then director of Chhandam's Mountain View Branch, and initiated Kanthi's daughter, Sreoshi into Kathak. Since then Kanthi has been an active parent volunteer, and also briefly a student of Kathak herself. Kanthi is proud to be part of the Noorani Dance community since its inc
Kanthi Sarkar first met Farah Yasmeen Shaikh in 2007. Farah was then director of Chhandam's Mountain View Branch, and initiated Kanthi's daughter, Sreoshi into Kathak. Since then Kanthi has been an active parent volunteer, and also briefly a student of Kathak herself. Kanthi is proud to be part of the Noorani Dance community since its inception. She and her family are lovers of the performing arts, and enjoy hosting house concerts at their home. Kanthi works at Apple, managing large scale cloud services. She also enjoys hiking and running.