Ajanta Chakraborty
Founder, President
Ajanta Chakraborty
Ajanta founded Bollywood Groove in 2008 in California. Her biggest passion in life is to provide a cultural exposure to Bollywood and other Indian dances in a way that it can be enjoyed by all individuals irrespective of their dance skills and prior knowledge to Indian culture/dance.
Ajanta has a Senior Diploma in BharatNatyam and has years of experience teaching and performing dance. With a Masters in Computer Science from University of British Columbia, Ajanta has also spent years in the corporate world as a Professional Services Consultant and has worked in dynamic and fast paced environments.
Since summer of 2011, she has made Bollywood Groove her primary focus and enjoys every moment of it. Ajanta oversees the day to day operations of the company along with managing the professional dance troupe and is the primary instructor at Bollywood Groove.
Vivek Kumar
Co-Owner, Vice President
Vivek uses his business skills from his work at McKinsey & Company and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University) to oversee the strategy and operations of the company.
Monica Kapoor
BollyKids! Program Director
Monica Kapoor
Monica has an extensive background in education. Her teaching philosophy allows children of various abilities to learn and master skills with confidence. Having worked 10 years with children with developmental delays widened her knowledge of teaching methods.
Today, she uses this philosophy to develop classes of students where the appreciation of music becomes an innovative tool in structuring dance. Furthermore, Monica’s training in Montessori philosophy enhances the classes by challenging the children to identify and create their own dance steps to a piece of music.
Monica also has a MS in Psychology.
Rubina Mander
Product Sales Agent
Rubina Mander
Rubina graduated from the School of the Art Institute in May of 2008 with a BFA in visual communications. Since then, she has had three years of significant experience in graphic design, marketing and sales. She has created logos, brochures and catalogs, written creative copy for websites and other marketing materials, and has successfully acquired new business for Chicago startups. She continuously exercises her knowledge and creativity to achieve success in her work.
Rubina is a fashionista and enjoys taking elements of the Bollywood style and incorporating it into her wardrobe. She is excited about the new westernized line of vibrant kurta tops, handcrafted jewelry and authentic handmade shawls offered by Bollywood Groove.
The Instructors
Ajanta Chakraborty
Ajanta Chakraborty
Ajanta Chakraborty has a Senior Diploma in classical Indian dance of BharatNatyam from Prayag Sangeet Samiti. She has extensive dance performance experience, beginning at age 5 and continuing till date.
Ajanta currently teaches the bG Cardio classes and some of the BollyKids! classes.
Monica Kapoor
Monica Kapoor
Monica Kapoor teaches dance and fitness for Bollywood Groove in Chicago’s Northwest suburbs.
Monica has a passion for music, dance, and fitness, and her classes are a reflection of these interests. She enjoys the pomp and circumstance of Bollywood, and brings the best of it to her fun-filled classes.
Nirali Shah
Nirali Shah
Nirali is the Skokie BollyKids instructor.
Nirali is currently a Junior at Northwestern University. She is studying Biological Sciences, Psychology, and Dance. She started learning Bharatnatyam and Indian Classical dance at the age of 3, under the instruction of Sudha Devulapalli. Since then, dance has been her number one passion. Throughout the years, she has participated in many regional and national competitions, and has choreographed items for shows and competitions in her community.
At the age of 12, she completed her Bharatnatyam schooling and started teaching dance to younger students in the Kalanjali Dance Academy. After spending 15 years at Kalanjali in New Jersey, she moved to Chicago in 2009 to attend Northwestern University. Nirali has had the opportunity to venture into all fields of dance, ranging from Bharatnatyam, Kathak, and Qawwali to Bollywood and Modern.
Rubina Mander
Rubina Mander
Rubina is currently completing her M.Ed. and teaching certification at DePaul University. She has always had a strong passion for working with children, and continues to volunteer and teach in school environments. She believes Bollywood dance can be an exciting, healthy activity for children, and can also teach them self-confidence, discipline and poise.
Rubina has been participating in bhangra dance since she was just five years old, and began teaching dance at the age of fifteen. She has performed in various dance competitions as well as cultural shows, and was a choreographer for UIC’s Bhangra Team.