Seema Sureshkumar

🪔 About

Seema Sureshkumar is an accomplished Indian classical dancer, educator, and cultural ambassador specializing in Kathak dance, a classical form from Northern India. She is recognized as a Kathak guru, particularly within the Central New York community. Sureshkumar holds an M.S. and a Post Honors Diploma in Kathak Dance from Banasthali University, Jaipur, India, where she was also a gold medalist. Her extensive training in the Lucknow gharana tradition began at a young age in Banaras, U.P., India, under the tutelage of Dr. Purnima Pandey and Smt. Manju Shukla, both disciples of Sri Mohanrao Kalyanpurkar, who in turn was a disciple of Pandit Shambhu Maharaj. Sureshkumar is the founder and artistic director of Anjani Dance Academy (ADA) in Syracuse, New York, which opened in January 2019. The academy offers training in Indian Classical Kathak Dance, Bollywood Dance, Rajasthani Folk Dance, Bhangra, and Yoga Dance, and is affiliated with ISTD, London, providing international certification in Kathak dance. She began teaching Kathak in 2014 and serves as an adjunct dance professor at Le Moyne College. Sureshkumar is a former member of CID-UNESCO and balances her artistic career with a role as a Database Administrator at Syracuse University. Her work emphasizes Kathak as a medium for personal growth and community building, fostering values of love, devotion, and beauty. Awards & Honours: CNY Arts Education Grant (2021), CNY SCR Grant (2022), NY State Seed Grant (2023), NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Finalist (2024), GRACE Individual Artist Grant (2025).