 Prachi brings a unique blend of a dancer and artist with an experience in organizing events and educational programs, and commitment to multi-cultural understanding, sustainable development, and heritage management through museums, education and travel. She brings with her a deep love for Indian dance along with a vision to develop new audiences, create appreciation and encourage research and academic discussions on Indian dance.
Born in Bombay, Prachi holds a Bachelors degree in Commerce from Bombay University and a Masters degree in Tourism Administration with a focus on Cultural-Heritage Tourism from George Washington University. She has also completed Intermediate Chartered Accountancy and pursued a graduate program in Ancient Indian Culture.
She was initiated into Kathak, a beautiful dance form northern India, by Smt. Sarika Sathe. But it was Guru Madhurita Sarang, under whose careful tutelage she learnt to love and understand the complex world of dance. In the recent years she has received invaluable guidance from Guru Rachna Sarang, Director of the Sarang Academy of Performing Arts (SAPA) based in New Jersey.
She has performed in India and the United States and has conducted dance workshops in schools and museums. She has given solo as well as group performances at prestigious venues including the All-India Kathak festival (Delhi), Kathak festival (Lucknow), Freer and Sackler Gallerier (Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.), Queens Museum of Art (New York). She was also honored to perform at the first Diwali celebration (the Indian festival of lights) at the White House in Washington D.C. She has performed with the Washington Revels, IDEA (Indian Dance Educators’ Association), Sarang Academy of Performing Arts, ArtsAhimsa (an artists’ collaborative promoting non-violence), Nayikas Dance Theatre Company and has choreographed for Theatrix (a theatre group).
Prachi is currently a free-lance consultant working on cultural resources projects ranging from museum education and interpretation, sustainable tourism development, heritage interpretation and education, preservation of intangible heritage, and community development to promotion of arts (performing and visual) and crafts. She has worked as a museum educator and community outreach educator with the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution, a consultant to INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and as an economic research assistant with the Travel Industries Association of America (TIA). |
