Meet one of our 2017 Guest Artists for NJ SummerDance!
Guest Artists Master Classes are included in full registration or can be attended at a drop-in rate of $30/each. Email Janel Brown, jbrown@carolyndorfman.dance, with any questions. Click here to learn more about NJ SummerDance.
Amit Shah, Bollywood
Thursday, August 17, 2017 at 3:00 to 5:00 pm
NJ SummerDance 2017 welcomes guest artist Amit Shah, creator of AATMA Performing Arts, “an award-winning dance company that stands at the unique intersection of traditional Indian performance and modern movement.”
In Amit’s class, students will learn the origin of “Bollywood” dance through Indian classical and folk technique and choreography.
About Amit Shah
Amit Shah is the Founder and Creative Director of AATMA Performing Arts and the Choreographer and Director of the internationally-acclaimed Bollywood dance spectacular, Mystic India: The World Tour. His experience in theater, visual arts, and dance allows him to serve as a compelling force in the performing arts industry, especially in the realm of modern Indian entertainment. Amit’s unique dance style merges strength and sensuality, while his perception of choreography and production combines both a dancer’s emotions and an audience’s virtual experience. He earned his reputation through his distinctive approach to presenting traditional Indian dance for a modern audience.
In 2009, Amit created the award-winning dance company, AATMA Performing Arts, which quickly became a leading worldwide brand in Indian dance with branches in New Jersey, New York, and Los Angeles. Of its projects is Mystic India: The World Tour, the first USA-based Bollywood dance spectacular seen by over half a million people worldwide.
Amit’s work has been featured globally on stage and received tremendous accolades with the media worldwide (notably with The New York Times, The Star Ledger, NBC’s The Today Show, and Dance Teacher Magazine). Amit has also worked on live shows with AR Rahman, Priyanka Chopra, Carrie Underwood, John Legend, as well as assisted in choreography on Bollywood film sets with Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Genelia D’Souza and Shahrukh Khan’s production house, Red Chillies Entertainment. His work has also been featured on the Netflix series Brown Nation.
In 2012, Amit launched Andaz Costume Design, a company dedicated to designing and fabricating costumes to dance companies around the world, and Aura Events & Entertainment, an event production company that plans private, corporate, and other branded events. In 2013, Amit founded South Asian Choreographer’s Alliance (SAC Alliance) with the goal of uniting South Asian artists and choreographers for the purpose of cultural preservation. He has also been a chief public speaker at a number of colleges to promote the pursuit of passion as a career and continues to conduct workshops on dance, entrepreneurship, and brand building to inspire students and future generations to make their dreams into reality.
