High-achieving students who have shown an impressive level of commitment and talent in the classroom may be chosen by Rita Mustaphi to become a company apprentice. Apprentices perform with the company on an as-needed basis until they are chosen to join the company ranks.
Apprentices 2022-23
Rohini Chatwani began learning Kathak at KDT in 2014 and has since studied with masters like the late Pandit Birju Maharaj, Ms. Saswati Sen and Durga Arya-Krüger. She first appeared onstage with KDT's company in the 2022 production of Black Candle. This is her first season as a KDT apprentice.
Mahek Maheshwari began learning Kathak at KDT in 2014 and has since studied with masters like the late Pandit Birju Maharaj, and Ms. Saswati Sen. This is her first season as a KDT apprentice.
Aaratrika Mondal began learning Kathak at KDT in 2014 and has since studied with masters like Ms. Saswati Sen and Durga Arya-Krüger. In April of 2021, she won her age group in the Kathak solo performance category at the Bharathotsav International Virtual Dance Competition in Ottawa, Canada. Aaratrika recently appeared in KDT's 2022 production of Black Candle. This is Aaratrika's second season as a KDT apprentice.
Karthika Nair began studying Kathak at KDT in 2017 and has since learned under masters like Pandit Birju Maharaj, Saswati Sen, and Durga Arya-Krüger. This is her first season as a KDT apprentice.
Ishani Nandan began her Kathak training under Mukta Sathe over a decade ago, and has since studied under masters like Pandit Birju Maharaj and Ms. Saswati Sen. Ishani recently appeared in KDT's 2022 production of Black Candle in a featured role. This is her second season as an apprentice with KDT.
Sreedevi Vengalil studied Bharatnatyam for over 10 years and has performed and won awards at various platforms and competitions in the Middle East and in India. Always having been fascinated by Kathak, she began studying it in 2017 with KDT after moving to Minnesota. Since then, she has attended workshops with the late Pandit Birju Maharaj and Rajendra Gangani. This is her third season as a KDT apprentice.