Aakansha Maheshwari +1 (818) 217-6798

Aakansha Maheshwari is the Founder and Artistic Director of BollyPop. Born and raised in New Delhi, Aakansha spent many years training in Bharatnatyam under Padmashree Geeta Chandran (1997-2012), and has performed throughout India, including touring with a classical ensemble in a Natya Nectar Dance Company production, directed by Goura Prema Riggan. She continues to pursue with Viji Prakash’s Los Angeles based Shakti Dance Company, and has performed in the dance production, Mara(2016) directed by Mythili and Aditya Prakash, presented at the prestigious John Anson Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood.

In 2013, Aakansha acted and danced in the Hollywood movie Vara: A Blessing (2013) in Sri Lanka, shot by the Oscar nominated cinematographer Bradford Young and directed by a Bhutanese monk, Khyentse Norbu. She has also conducted dance workshops at Warner Brothers Film Studios.

After moving to America in 2013, she started her dance company called BollyPop® where she offers a dance fitness program for adults and choreography programs for kids. BollyPop Dance Fitness is a fusion of Bollywood music with American Pop, Hip Hop, Latin and Arabic music. Aakansha's students range from age 4 to 70 years old and now with 3 more instructors on her team, BollyPop classes are offered all around Southern California and in Salt Lake City. She is currently giving weekly classes at UCLA, as well as providing a 10-week Indian dance program at local LA schools such as Windward Middle school and Westside Neighborhood School.

In the last few years, she has been touring all over America teaching workshops at the 'Festival of Colors USA' leading big crowds in dance and fitness. Her performances have been featured on Fox News, the New York Times, and LA Weekly, among other newspapers.

Having her family roots in , Aakansha grew up with the folk music and dance of the state. To share her love for her culture, she has collaborated with Malini Taneja and created the 'Desert Fire' project - a platform to share Kalbelia dance and Rajasthani music to new audiences in North America and abroad. Aakansha's devotion to her art is for the purpose of spreading happiness wherever she goes. [email protected] www.bollypopla.com

@BollyPopLA bollypop_LA Aakansha Maheshwari BollyPop Aakansha NOTABLE VENUES AND PERFORMANCES

2014 - PRESENT Festival of Colors USA: California - Los Angeles, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Riverside, Oceanside Washington - Redmond, Michigan - Detroit, Nevada - Las Vegas and Reno, New Jersey - Parsippany, Utah - Salt Lake City and Spanish Fork, Ontario - Canada Festival of India: USA - Spanish fork, Canada - Ontario Erasing Borders Festival - New York City Ford Theater - Hollywood NBA Pre-game performance at the Staples Center - Downtown Los Angeles Philip Glass and Anoushka Shankar Pre-show at Segerstrom Center for the Arts - Costa Mesa, California Festival of Chariots - Venice Beach, Los Angeles Aratani Theater - Downtown Los Angeles San Gabriel Mission Playhouse - Alhambra, Los Angeles James Armstrong Theater - Torrance Descanso Gardens - Los Angeles Angel stadium - Anaheim, California The Yoga Expo- Los Angeles, California World Luxury Residences Sear Cruise - Cochin and Goa Zorba the Buddha - Delhi

2013 AND PRIOR Feature film 'Vara - a Blessing' - Sri Lanka India: City Palace - Anand Mahotsav Festival - Jaipur Braj Mahotsav - Delhi GD Birla Sabhaga r- Kolkata Chowdiah Memorial Hall - Hyderabad The Museum Theater - Chennai Nehru Center - Mumbai KIIT - Bhuvaneshwar Naveen Kalakar Dance Festival - Bhuvaneshwar Indian Rail Museum - Delhi Summit of South Asian Academies - Delhi Kamani Auditorium - Delhi India Habitat Center - Delhi Siri Fort Auditorium - Delhi Shrimath Sangeet Festival - Varanasi Natya Vriksha Dance Performance - Ayodhya and Vrindavan Spic Macay lecture demonstations - with Natya Vriksha Dance Company COMMUNITY EVENTS CORPORATE EVENTS California: USA: IMRC Santa Clara NASA JPL - Los Angeles Indian Republic Day Palm Springs Aerospace - Los Angeles Indian Independence Day Norwalk Verizon - Playa Vista Wellbeing Festival Santa Monica Core Digital Media - Playa Vista Himalayan Festival Laguna Niguel Dun & Bradstreet - Malibu Hometown Fair El Segundo Warner Bros. Studios - Hollywood Holiday Parade El Segundo Bank of the West - Los Angeles Baisakhi festival Orange County Athleta Commercial Shoot - Los Angeles 40 yrs Church Celebration Cerritos TriFit Gym- Santa Monica Penny Festival Westchester Lorna Jane Store's 4th Birthday Fiji Day Celebration Culver City - Santa Monica Citrus Fair La Habra American Girl Store Product Launch Diwali at Gita Ramayan Temple Los Angeles - The Grove, Los Angeles Ayurveda Conference Woodland Hills India: Janamashtami Iskcon Culver City Mars India Conference - Haryana NON-PROFITS Ernst and Young Gala Manav Sadhna - Delhi LA Works South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency Hope B-Lit Arthritis Foundation India Friends Association Team Sewa Kranti Rotary International Sahitya Kala Parishad Nehru Bal Samiti Ayaas Prayaas

UNIVERSITIES UCLA California State University Cal State Northridge El Camino College Soka University Delhi University Vasant Valley School IIT Delhi BITS Pilani Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount High School Santa Monica College Windward School Webster Elementary School Westside Neighborhood School Short Avenue Elementary School Los Angeles Harvard Westlake School Fundraiser

Press

As floorwork goes, this is both impressive and seductive. And the colors! Aakansha Maheshwari “and Malini Taneja perform from Rajasthan: rhythmically so much more straightforward than the classical genres, and all the more simply irresistible." Alastair Macaulay, writer for New York Times

...the fantastically vigorous brio of Aakansha Maheshwari and Malini Taneja in Rajasthani Folk “dance." INDIA ABROAD Videos

BollyPop at Warner Bros. Hollywood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr01VmpUvGI BollyPop at Yoga Expo Los Angeles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seJN6l8tbwA Shoot for Athleta Clothing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKmDALQFoEg BollyPop Class in Santa Monica https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF9DVwBDWEA&t=34s LA LA Land with Malini Taneja https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-8moseug1A&list=PL6f6VMDn kILUJIqel4vrCXhAQ5cwEAcOD Workshops

We tailor our workshops for all levels and ages. Our workshops are focused on developing technique and learning choreography in Bharatanatyam, Kalbelia and Bollywood. Our students will get an exhilarating experience for the body and mind.

TEMPLE DANCE OF THE SOUL: BHARATANATYAM Bharatanatyam is an ancient Indian dance form that combines outer grace with inner beauty, using rhythmic footwork, intricate mudras (hand gestures), devotional emotions, and ancient story telling. Students learn to imbibe the movements of the gods and goddesses and dive into the historic past of the devadasis, the ancient temple dancers of the Divine. Entering this sacred space, we will challenge both our bodies and souls to reach newer heights of dedication and devotion.

GYPSY DANCE OF THE DESERT: KALBELIA Kalbelia is a gypsy folk dance from Rajasthan, India that imbibes the free spirit of the desert with it's tumultuous improvisation, sensuality, snake-like undulations, and fiery twirls. It was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, stating Kalbelia is “Transmitted from generation to generation, the songs and dances form part of an oral tradition for which no texts or training manuals exist. Song and dance are a matter of pride for the Kalbelia community, and a marker of their identity at a time when their traditional travelling lifestyle and role in rural society are diminishing.” We strive to share this tradition of the gypsies with our students, exploring the free spirit of the desert.

BOLLYPOP DANCE FITNESS BollyPop is a high-energy cardio workout with easy to follow moves and choreography. The class will enable you to build overall strength and extend your dancing style and skills, which will not only include Bollywood style dancing but also , Indian folk, Indian classical, Latin, Korean Pop, Hip Hop and Egyptian classical movements all to a fusion music of Bollywood and America’s current Top 40 Pop Songs. Get ready to shake, swerve, move and groove across various continents in this multicultural, adventurous wonderland of dance fun!