About

At the current age of 22, Ishita (Mili) is a professional dancer born and raised in New Jersey. Ishita has learned Bharatanatyam since the age of 5 primarily under Guru Sudha Shekar Devulapalli of Kalanjali School of Dance, and completed her arangetram at the tender age of 15. She has additionally trained in Bharatanatyam in Kolkata, India under Guru Malabika Sen. She has also learned Indian contemporary fusion under Guru and uncle Sukalyann Bhattacharya from a young age. Ishita is a very versatile dancer and has additionally trained in Hip Hop, gymnastics, Western, nattuvangam, Eastern Music Rhythms, and yoga. In 2010, Mili was the 1st Runner up in Sony Television's Boogie Woogie, NJ 2010. The year after, she won the Gold Prize at the Dongwa South Asian Performing Arts competition, and 1st prize in classical dance at the Telegu Fine Arts Society competition. Ishita has performed internationally for solo performances and with Sukalyann Dance Entourage. Most recently she was featured on Bangladesh TV's Tarana dance reality show as a guest performer and performed in a solo debut show in Kolkata for Hygeia Foundation and RKHIV in support of children with HIV/AIDS. Some other notable artistic achievements include starring in Lopamudra Mitro's music video for "Mamo Chitte", T.V. performances, featuring in Bengali films, and working alongside stars including music producer Bappi Lahiri, actor Adil Hussain, play director Megnath Bhattacharjee, actress Indrani Haldar, actress Monami Ghosh, and more in various projects.

Ishita is currently a company member of Sukalyann Dance Entourage, an established internationally performing Indian dance troupe, and a company member of UFP Dance Company, one of the East coast’s premier Hip Hop teams. She has completed the intensive Dancing to Connect Program at Battery Dance Company, led by artistic director Jonathan Hollander and also completed a scholarship program at Contemporary Indian company Sumeet Nagdev Dance Arts (Mumbai).

Ishita has recently also been breaking into the role of choreographer. Her choreography pulls from her different dance trainings to create a unique urban Indian style of dancing. As both an Indian classical and urban dancer, Ishita strives to tell classical Indian stories in a more modern, relatable, and relevant way to keep the Indian culture alive and current for her generation. Moreover, she tries to tell these stories in a way that also resonates globally by using Indian and urban dance vocabulary. She has choreographed several full length works, for music videos, and for master class workshops internationally. One of her most recent accomplishments as a choreographer was collaborating on up-and-coming musician Rahmaan on his music video for his single, "Shanti."

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzurrCL-DUm_1lZiRlN3eg

For more information, check the resume attached in the galleries.