Opening Ceremony

Dalia Sen leads the Bay area creative dancers and is Chairperson for Bangamela 2023 Opening and Closing ceremonies. Well-known in the arena of performing arts her choreography blends traditional Indian dances with contemporary dance forms, Dalia continues to learn various dance forms from Indian and International Gurus. This exposure leaves its mark on Dalia's visualization and unique compositions.
Her credits include Art Director and Choreography of NABC 2009, NABC 2012, NABC 2017, Bangamela 2017, Home Productions Raabdta, and Ehsaas. She also was the dance director for the Enacte production Chitra.
As the past cultural director of Bay Area Prabasi, she has organized many productions for them. Kalamahotsav 2014 and 2015 in Collaboration with the Counsel General of India also speaks of her immense capability.
Her visualization and direction of the opening ceremony for Honorable Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Bay Area visit in Sept 2015 made her a household name in the Indian diaspora.

Chandreyee Mukherjee was born into a family of musicians, dancers, and artists. She started training in classical Manipuri style at the age of 6, under the tutelage of Guru Debjani Chaliha, a disciple of Guru Padmasree Maisnam Amubi Singh. In her quest to further understand and explore another classical dance form, she started to train in Odissi, initially under her aunt Smt Mitra Purkayastha in New Jersey and subsequently from Smt Niharika Mohanty, the founder Director of Guru Shradha.  She has also been receiving guidance from Smt. Sujata Mohapatra and Guru Ratikant Mohapatra in Odissi. She has trained in other contemporary dance forms under Smt. TanusreeShankar, Sri Sudharshan Chakravarty, and Sri Sanjib Bhattacharya. To her, dance is an experience of the entire artistic process, a way of life. Her interests revolve around experimenting with different dance forms and creating contemporary choreographic pieces incorporating classical Indian and Western dance styles. She has worked with Sri Sanjib Bhattacharya as a co-choreographer for the classical Manipuri section at the North American Bengali  Conference 2012 Closing Ceremony and was a dance lead for NABC 2017 Opening Ceremony.  She is actively involved with various dance productions as a dancer and choreographer in the Bay Area.

Shuvra Ray started her dance journey at the tender age of four, under the tutelage of Guru Smt. Krishna Ganguly, a Principal of the “Prangan Music Academy”, and a distinguished examiner at "Bangiya Sangeet Parishad” and "Rabindra Bharati University”. Shuvralearned Bharatnatyam, classical, contemporary, and folk dance genres from around India, and completed her Bharatnatyam Arangetram under the close watch of Guru Smt. Rajalakshmi Venkataswaran, a senior disciple of Padma Shri Guru K.N. Dandayuthapani Pillai, and the founder of “Bharata Natya Kalalaya'' in 1949, which is among the very first Bharatnatyam schools set up in Kolkata, India. After a long hiatus from the stage, Shuvra’s passion for dance was reignited as her daughters started their own dance journeys. Shuvra gets charged with creative challenges and shines when telling entertaining stories through her enthralling choreography. Team Shuvra’s productions have been highly appreciated across the years, by audiences throughout the Bay Area and globally, via online channels. Shuvrais a Property Manager by profession and enjoys volunteering with organizations through her choreography, direction, and art productions.

I am Somali.While dancing remains a lifelong passion, I got professional training in Odissi from a very young age. The passion continued with me exploring other Indian dance forms and getting associated with various organizations here in the Bay area. BACDA , a. pioneer in dance production , gave me the privilege to be associated with it from it's very early days. In this BANGAMELA I'll be involved helping the kids with their performance. See you all soon.

Kakoli Basu, the artistic director of Urvashi Dance Academy has been teaching various dance styles from India, namely classical, contemporary and folk dances, for the last 25+ years. She first started teaching in Augusta, Georgia where her students won various awards at competitions and were also invited to perform in various cities in US and Canada. In 2006 she moved to Tucson and started afresh with the kids and adults of the community. Her students range from age 5 to professionals.
Kakoli Basu and her students performed for the opening ceremonies of NABC (North American Bengali Conference) in 2002 at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, in 2005 at Madison Square Gardens, NY, and in 2012 in Las Vegas. In 2018, her students performed for the Bangamela in Phoenix and at NABC Las Vegas in 2022.

Kakoli has also performed at the Indian Embassy in Berlin and Mandapa in Paris. Kakoli has been trained in Bharat Natyam, first under the guidance of Sri Naresh Kumar and then at Kalamandalam, Kolkata with Guru Smt Thankamani Kutty and Kalamandalam Venkitt Kakoli has also taken lessons in Manipuri dance from Smt Kalavati Devi. Kakoli also trained in the Uday Shankar style of contemporary dance.
Before her move to the US, she traveled to US, Canada, and England and also South East Asia performing in various cities as a troupe member of the Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe Kakoli aims to pass on her knowledge of dance to the next generation so that India’s cultural and heritage does not get overshadowed by Bollywood. Hence her students not only specialize in Bharatanatyam but also participate in Tagore dances, folk, film music, and other Indian styles.