Shivani Thakkar

Shivani Thakkar is a versatile dancer, choreographer and instructor. With a specialty in Bharata Natyam (Indian Classical Dance), Bollywood, Tap, Jazz, and Ballet, Shivani is able to create and work in a multitude of dance styles and produce layered innovative cross-cultural fusion choreography.

She has gained international recognition for her artistry and has worked with choreographers Marty Kudelka, Jamal Sims, Mary Ann Kellogg, Ganesh Acharya, Yogen Bhagat, and the Bellytwins, to name a few. Her highly acclaimed performance credits include being the Lead female dancer in the Cross Canada production DVAYA: A Confluence of Male Female Spirits, various live shows and film shoots in India, Canada, and the US, and successful artistic, festival, and commercial work in North America. She was the 2008 winner of the National US Dance Competition “Bollypop” sponsored by Verizon Fios and Saavn Media Entertainment, is a recipient of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute’s Arts Study Fellowship, grants from Alberta Foundation for the Arts (Canada) and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (USA). She was a nominee for the 2010 Enbridge Emerging Artist Award from the Office of the Mayor, Calgary, His Worship Dave Bronconnier.

Shivani is the Associate Artistic Director of Manu Kala Mandir Dance Productions and Academy, is the founder and choreographer for the MKM BollyStars – Canada’s Premiere Dance Troupe, and is a company member with Bellytwins International. She is a regular Guest Artist with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company performing with both their Bharata Natyam and Modern divisions.

In addition to performance and choreography, Shivani has a wide range of teaching experience. She has taught at Dance Dimensions Performing Arts Center and Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles, Manu Kala Mandir Dance Academy in Canada, assists veteran tapper Greg Poland, has taught master classes for various dance companies, has been a guest lecturer at Howard Community College and annually at the University of Southern California, and has taught in various summer dance intensives for pre-professional and Professional dancers.

Shivani has been featured in various magazines and News shows including interviews on Omni Televisions’ Bollywood Blvd, the covers of Desi News and Starbuzz Weekly, and regular full page coverage in the Calgary Herald. In addition to dance, Shivani is an actress and writer. She is a company member of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, was part of the CPAF celebrity staged reading of the Vagina Monologues, and is a dance beat writer for Buzzine Magazine.