Susan-Jane is a member of BollyRitmo’s dance troupe. She teaches and choreographs for BollyRitmo as well. As Artistic Director, she is responsible for the overall artistic vision of the company. Susan-Jane hosts the performance class in collaboration with Bert Castillo,
Susan-Jane trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London as an actor, and has performed throughout the United Kingdom. Locally she has worked with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Aurora, Cal Shakes, and ACT to name a few. In addition, she has taught a range of classes for adults and teens at Berkeley Repertory School of Theater, and Center Rep. She has also been a professional teaching artist for California Shakespeare Theater, working with teachers in the public schools.
Other pursuits of note include playwriting – (her radio plays have been produced by BBC Radio and locally.
Most relevant to her dance work, Susan-Jane teaches Laban Movement – where she can engage her passion for the diverse energies of the human body in motion. Susan Jane has also been a member of Akat dance troupe, fusion grounded in contemporary dance.
Ajanta Chakraborty is the Founder and Managing Director of BollyRitmo.
Ajanta has a Senior Diploma in classical Indian dance of BhratNatyam from Prayag Sangeet Samiti. She is also trained in various Latin and Ballroom dance forms from Stanford Ballroom Dance Team and has performed on stage all through her life.
She has taught dance and dance-aerobics classes extensively for various dance companies in the Bay Area and has created a unique fitness program for BollyRitmo that features a total body workout to Bollywood and Latin music.
Ajanta Chakraborty is the Founder and Managing Director of BollyRitmo.
Ajanta has a Senior Diploma in classical Indian dance of BhratNatyam from Prayag Sangeet Samiti. She is also trained in various Latin and Ballroom dance forms from Stanford Ballroom Dance Team and has performed on stage all through her life.
She has taught dance and dance-aerobics classes extensively for various dance companies in the Bay Area and has created a unique fitness program for BollyRitmo that features a total body workout to Bollywood and Latin music.
Susan-Jane is a member of BollyRitmo’s dance troupe. She teaches and choreographs for BollyRitmo as well. As Artistic Director, she is responsible for the overall artistic vision of the company. Susan-Jane hosts the performance class in collaboration with Bert Castillo,
Susan-Jane trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London as an actor, and has performed throughout the United Kingdom. Locally she has worked with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Aurora, Cal Shakes, and ACT to name a few. In addition, she has taught a range of classes for adults and teens at Berkeley Repertory School of Theater, and Center Rep. She has also been a professional teaching artist for California Shakespeare Theater, working with teachers in the public schools.
Other pursuits of note include playwriting – (her radio plays have been produced by BBC Radio and locally.
Most relevant to her dance work, Susan-Jane teaches Laban Movement – where she can engage her passion for the diverse energies of the human body in motion. Susan Jane has also been a member of Akat dance troupe, fusion grounded in contemporary dance.
Mona Rawal has recieved 12 years of training in Indian classical dance from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in India.She also holds a Masters in Philosophy and is pursuing her Ph.D in the same.Mona has been teaching Bharat Natyam and Bollywood dance styles right from her days back in India a decade ago.Training students for college programmes, wedding and private parties, talent shows and school performances is a major task she works on.
Her passion to make dance a blissfull and enriching experience made her join the company as she shares the principles they abide in.Her experiences with classical dance makes her style very much expressional, aesthetic and more technique oriented.Mona has worked with people of all ages and finds it exciting to customize every ocassion with a special thematic choreograhy to suit the celebration.Mona believes that dance is a meaningfull expression of ones emotions towards an inner quest for rejoicing.
As an Artistic Associate of BollyRitmo, Bert provides invaluable support to the Artistic Director, taking the lead on projects, and contributing to the creative growth of the company.
Bert's passion for dance began later in life, as a companion to his love of music. Taken up by the Swing craze of the late 90s he began taking lessons, a passion that soon turned into something of a healthy addiction.
He has taught at Starlite Ballroom, where he trained with a number of extraordinary coaches including Ron Montez, Glen Weiss, Jeffery Lynn Marchand, and Pantea.
With a focus is on bodywork and body mechanics, Bert has a talent for simplicity, and excels at making that first dance step seem easy. Students feel comfortable and at ease with Bert, relaxing into the learning process. He enjoys teaching beginners, as well as working with more experienced dancers on polish. Currently he dances for pleasure and teaches group as well as private lessons for BollyRitmo.
As a dance troupe member, he continues to hone his own skills as well as hosting and teaching in the performance series.
