Roosha Mandal

🪔 About

Roosha Mandal is a multidisciplinary dance artist and educator with a strong foundation in Indian classical dance, particularly Bharatanatyam. She commenced her Bharatanatyam training approximately 16 years ago (around 2007) at the Nandanik Dance Academy in Pittsburgh, PA. Her extensive studies encompass various South Asian dance forms, including Navanritya, Manipuri, Kathakali, and Mohiniattam. Mandal has further honed her skills through master classes and workshops with esteemed gurus such as Dr. Sonal Mansingh (Abhinaya), Sanjib Bhattacharya (Chhau and Manipuri), Padmashree Guru Darshana Javeri (Manipuri), and Pavitra Bhat and Sucharita Sharma (Bharatanatyam). Beyond classical Indian dance, she is also trained in Western dance forms like ballet, jazz-lyrical, hip hop, and modern, and completed an intensive apprenticeship program in contemporary dance at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in 2012-13. As a performer, Roosha Mandal has toured across the USA with the Nandanik Dance Academy and Troupe, participating in numerous productions and festivals, including the VILAYA festival in 2018-2019. She has also collaborated with local dance organizations such as MillerDance and Afrika Yetu. Mandal is an active teaching artist and choreographer, having taught at the Nandanik Dance Academy for the past eight years, beginning around 2015. Her choreographic works have been debuted and performed at events like the Carnegie Mellon Dancer's Symposium. In addition to her dance pursuits, she has received training in Hindustani classical music and Rabindrasangeet. Roosha Mandal is currently pursuing medical studies at the University of Illinois – Chicago.