Founding Artist, Soloist
Founding Artist Dr. Sarah Morelli has studied India’s performing arts since 1992 and is active as a kathak performer, scholar, and educator. Her dance is infused with a rich musicality and deep understanding of kathak’s past and present. Sarah was blessed to train with two legendary artists: kathak master Pandit Chitresh Das and maestro Ali Akbar Khan (vocal music and the sarod), as well as their disciples Pt. Rajeev Taranath, Dr. George Ruckert, Gretchen Hayden and Steve Oda. She earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Ethnomusicology in 2007. Her academic work includes the book A Guru’s Journey: Pandit Chitresh Das and Indian Classical Dance in Diaspora (University of Illinois Press, 2019), the seminal ethnographic study of Pandit Chitresh Das’s contributions to kathak.

Soloist
Dance artist and educator, Joanna Meinl, began dancing in 1990 at Ballet Etudes in Miami, FL, training and performing ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. Upon relocating to San Francisco, CA in 1995, she was introduced to kathak at San Francisco State University and began her 20 year journey studying with legendary master artist, Pandit Chitresh Das. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Dance Ethnology and became a performing member of the Chitresh Das Dance Company in 1998. Since then, Joanna has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and India as a soloist and with critically acclaimed productions including Darbar, Pancha Jati, Sampurnam, Sita Haran, and Shiva. She is honored to continue her Guruji’s legacy performing with the Leela Dance Collective, most recently in Son of the Wind.

Ensemble Dancer
At the young age of four, Sonali Toppur began her study of kathak. In 2003, she joined the Chhandam Youth Dance Company (now Leela Youth Dance Company) and trained directly under kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das for over ten years. As both an emerging soloist and member of the youth company, Sonali performed at many prestigious venues and events including the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, the Kathak Conference in Chicago, and the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. She has been teaching since 2009, most recently at Leela Academy. Since graduating in 2016 from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, she now works as an actuarial analyst. She is passionately dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Pt. Das — most recently performing alongside the Leela Dance Collective in the production Son of the Wind.

Ensemble Dancer
Born and raised in Reno NV, Carrie Jennings started dance classes at the age of eight and music classes at the age of eleven. She received a Bachelor’s of Music degree in classical trumpet performance from the University of Denver, and during her degree she began studying kathak with Dr. Sarah Morelli in 2013. She helped found Denver’s Sureela Academy and Ensemble of Kathak, now Leela Denver, in 2016. Carrie was honored to debut with the Leela Dance Collective in their Los Angeles premiere of Son of the Wind in 2019 at the Ford Theaters, and is proud to be the manager for the Leela Dance Collective and a teacher and administrator for the Leela Academy. In addition to her aspiring journey as a kathak dancer, she also performs as a trumpeter and vocalist, touring nationally with indie soul band Mama Magnolia.

Composer & Musician, Sitar
Jayanta Banerjee, renowned sitarist and eminent composer, started his formal training under the guidance of Pandit Rabi Chakraborty at a young age. His talent and singular approach to the sitar garnered him early recognition in the field. In 1997, he received the prestigious National Youth Festival Award, paving the way for a prolific and enduring career in music and composition. A profound sensitivity, responsiveness and gravity makes Jayanta’s approach to music. Jayanta has performed with some of India’s greatest artists including the likes of Pt. Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Chitresh Das, Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri, and Pt. Kumar Bose. His live performances and compositions have been featured across India and around the world at prestigious venues such as the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, Meany Center for the Performing Arts, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai. 

Musician, Sarod
Ben Kunin spent 25 years studying the sarod under the legendary Maestro Ali Akbar Khan at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California. He also studied tabla from Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri for many years at the AACM. In 2006, Ben began performing as an accompanying instrumentalist with the great kathak master Pandit Chitresh Das and many of his disciples. He performs frequently as a soloist and as an accompanist throughout the Bay Area. Although his focus is North Indian classical music, Ben began his musical career as a guitarist. He has produced four albums of original compositions for sarod, guitar, tabla, and other instruments. His second album, entitled “Acoustic Adventures” was released on the Communion label and features solo compositions for nylon string guitar. In 2004 he released a CD entitled “Raga and Blues” with tabla artist Kukoo Singh,  and in 2005 “Point of Departure” with Latin American percussionist Andres Sabogal.

Musician, vocals & harmonium
The late Debashis Sarkar was an essential part of both the Chitresh Das Dance Company and Leela Dance Collective. His voice and creative spirit will forever be intertwined with the artistic works of Pandit Chitresh Das and all his disciples. Debashis Sarkar was born and raised in a musical family. In his early years he trained in classical and semi-classical music with a number of renowned artists including Shri Sukhendu Goswami, Ustad Sagiruddin Khan and Shri Sukumar Mitra. He received his formal and foundational training in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music with Ustaad Ghulam Mohammad Khan. Debashis performed regularly for All India Radio as a top grade artist and numerous media outlets including Doordarshan. For more than four decades, Debashis was a highly sought after artist amongst India’s classical dancers. He accompanied some of India’s finest performers including the late Odissi master Guru Kelucharan Mahapatro, and notable kathak artists such as Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Chitresh Das, Pandit Vijay Shankar, and Pandit Rammohan Mishra. Debashis was a core member of the Chitresh Das Dance Company’s musical ensemble for over 15 years participating in the composition and performance of full-length musical scores for dance productions such as Darbar, Shiva, Pancha Jati, Sita Haran, East as Center and Sampurnam. Debashis was a popular performer of light classical music including ghazals, thumris, and bhajans. He performed as a soloist and accompanist in prestigious venues in India, Europe, Japan, and the United States. He also played percussion instruments, having studied tabla under Pandit Hiralal Mishra. Debashis was also a resident artist with the Leela Dance Collective. He regularly performed with the Leela Dance Collective’s major productions including SPEAK and Son of the Wind. His passion for music made him a sought after lecturer and visiting faculty member at numerous educational institutions around the globe.