Sreyashi Dey, President and Artistic Director
Sreyashi is one of the foremost exponents of Odissi in the US, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Srishti Dances of India and Akshara, an Ann Arbor based multi-arts organization.
Sreyashi was previously also an exponent of Bharatanayam. As a thoughtful artist, Sreyashi constantly expands her creative horizons with new choreographies and collaborations across artistic genres.
She regularly tours the US and has performed all over the world – in Europe, Asia and India. Her work has been critically acclaimed by well-known critics in leading newspapers and magazines in the US, such as the New York Times, as well as in leading media in India.
Sreyashi has been the recipient of several awards, notably the Harry Schwalb Excellence in the Arts award, and has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and several premier foundations in the US.
She was also the founder of SPARSH, an Ann Arbor non-profit that established and supported a pediatric heart surgery program at a community hospital in India for disadvantaged children.
Sreyashi’s educational background includes an MS in Economics and an MBA, with parallel careers in marketing, University of Michigan administration and non-profit.
Paroma Chatterjee, Vice President and Co-Artistic Director
Paroma is an Associate Professor at the Department of the History of Art at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She received her education at JNU, India (B.A.), Cambridge University, England, (B.A.) and at the University of Chicago (Ph.D.)
Although her research interests lie in the art of the middle ages in Europe and the Mediterranean, she is deeply interested in Indian classical dance, music, and cinema.
She has been invited to lecture in her discipline at various distinguished venues in the United States, Europe, and India.
Dr. Urmi Guha, Secretary and Program Manager
Urmi grew up and studied mostly in Kolkata, India. She did her MSc in Physics at Science College and obtained her PhD through the Indian Institute for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata.
She has been a resident in the USA for almost thirty years, during which she conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and spent many years as a professional in various fields of software development.
Other than her professional activities, she is interested in French literature, handicrafts of various kinds, is a voracious reader and volunteers at local cultural activities when requested.
Natalie Robbins, Marketing and Communications Manager
Natalie works full-time as the Marketing & Communications Manager for the Ann Arbor Summer Festival as well as a freelancer on a variety of marketing and design projects. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan’s Penny Stamps School of Art & Design in 2018.
Natalie’s involvement with the Rasa Festival began after a study abroad trip to India in the summer of 2017, where she studied ancient temple architecture. She contributed a number of drawings from her trip to the visual arts exhibition of the 2017 Rasa Festival season.
Currently, Natalie manages the Rasa Festival’s branding, design, marketing, and communications strategy.
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