Parul Shah

🪔 About

Parul Shah is an internationally acclaimed Kathak dancer, choreographer, and educator based in New York. She received her training in India from the late Padma Vibhushan Kumudini Lakhia, a groundbreaking choreographer. Shah holds a B.A. in Political Science from New York University and an M.A. in Dance and Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she is currently pursuing an Ed. D. in Dance Education. Shah is the founder and artistic director of the Parul Shah Dance Company, a New York-based Kathak and contemporary dance company. For over two decades, she has been teaching Kathak in its pure form and has spent over twenty-seven years creating work that challenges cultural narratives and hierarchies that diminish the dignity of South Asian women. Her choreographic work expands the classical Kathak medium beyond cultural boundaries, using its mythological storytelling roots to explore universal narratives and contemporary lived experiences. Her performances have been presented at prestigious venues worldwide, including City Center's Fall for Dance Festival, New Victory Theatre, Kennedy Center, Asia Society, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out Series, Metropolitan Museum of Art, World Music Institute, Lincoln Center/Damrosch Park, Museum of Fine Arts, Japan Forum Foundation, and Suvarna Parva in India. Beyond performing, Shah is an adjunct professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey and a member of the dance faculty at the South Asian Cultural Center. She has also guest lectured and held residencies at numerous universities, including New York University and Rutgers University, and has served on the faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University. Additionally, she has co-curated the Erasing Borders Dance Festival in New York City for over 15 years. Awards & Honours: United States Artist Fellow (2026).