"to be a teacher is my greatest work of art"

Rajesh is an Electrical Engineer but has decided to dedicate himself entirely to music.

He took intensive training from Dr. Ram Deshpande, a leading Hindustani vocalist. He is a Sangeet Visharad (Bachelor Degree) from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.  He is a thorough, patient, and creative teacher; under his tutelage, students have grown to understand and love classical music like they would love video games!

Vasudha started learning classical carnatic vocals and veena at the age of 5 from the famous artist Vidushi Smt Jayamma of Mysore. After passing her proficiency exam at age 17, Vasudha & her guru started performimg in concerts together. Her mastery of music allows her infinite freedom for creativity thus adding imagination & depth to every piece. She is a renowned composer and has accompanied various ballets and dramas. Aside from classical veena and vocal, Vasudha is also a great light music singer. She is the disciple of H.R. Leelavati, Director of Sangeeta Nataka Academy of Karnataka. She teaches students from basic till proficient levels including Manodharma Sangeeta which includes Raga-Alpana, Kalpana Swaras and Nerval rendition.

Sudha Dhamodharan is a passionate dancer & experienced teacher. Sudha has learned from Smt. Padmini Ravi & her renowned Guru Kalaimamini K.J. Sarasa. She completed her Arangetram at the young age of 11.  A trained teacher from NCERT, she  works very well with children. As a teacher, she is deeply committed to the exceptional artistic development of her students as well as imparting the cultural and religious values through dance.

Kuhokee Kumari Das, disciple of Guru Gargi Chattopadhyay, has trained in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi since the age of six, completing her Bharatanatyam arrangetram and Kuchipudi rangapravesham in 2011. She has performed in prestigious platforms such as the United Nations General Assembly, Lincoln Center, as well as the nation’s top universities. In 2019, Kuhokee was awarded a New York City Council Citation for her contribution in Indian classical dance. Kuhokee has completed her Master’s degree in Biology at Queens College, where she also taught Anatomy & Physiology. She is a published clinical researcher and is currently working at the Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai in Neurology Research Administration. Kuhokee’s work can be found online on YouTube and Instagram under the handle @kuhokee.

Archana has a masters in Communication and more than 25 years of experience in events, tour management and A&R. She is the founder and Director of Kulture Kool and is very passionate about promoting cultural education and understanding.

She has designed Guru Kool as an exclusive program aimed at helping young children internalize the beauty of South Asian languages and cultures through hands-on, play-based activities in a group setting.

She conducts various workshops on Indian culture at public institutions all over the tri-state.

Eran Phillips is an accomplished guitar player, songwriter and producer. In 2003 Eran joined forces with three NYC veterans to form "critical fuse" a modern rock band fronted by Terence Dover, a well known song writer and producer who has worked with Celine Dion, Venesa Carlton and Averil Levigne. Eran has been teaching guitar for all ages for several years. He  has been successfully training students for the prestigious Trinity School of Music exams with outstanding success! Eran has  been teaching guitar for the past several years to students of all ages.

Chris has been playing drum set for over 25 years. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music and has studied with such professionals as: Sonny Igoe, Tommy Igoe, Billy Ward, Rod Morgenstein, Dan Haskins and Tony Bienert. “One can never stop learning” are his words of wisdom. He has recorded drum set on numerous sessions  and plays live with  many musical acts. Consistently recording and playing with the bands Copper Dalton and Duck–n-Cover. He is a fantastic teacher, adored by his students.

Dibyarka Chatterjee is the son & disciple of Pandit Samir Chatterjee. He has performed with maestros like Pandit Jasraj & Utd. Shujaat Khan & collaborated in world music projects with groups like the Dance Theater of Harlem, the Battery Dance Co., and with fusion musicians/composers like Salman Ahmad (Junoon), amongst others. Dibyarka has a Masters in Fine Arts from Goddard College and  regularly conducts tabla classes & workshops at numerous institutions such as Columbia University, Dartmouth College & NYU. He has been teaching in NY & NJ for more than a decade.

​Indrajit is a disciple of the sitar maestro Pandit Subroto Roy-Chowhury. Indrajit  strives to innovate while keeping a firm connection with the past. While completing his undergraduate studies at Duke University, he received the Bennenson Award for the Arts to further his study of Indian Classical music. He has performed at venues like Hammerstein Ballroom (New York) & Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.) He was a visiting faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania.

Maleesa has a bachelors degree from Montclair State university in human ecology- family and child studies, and is certified in early childhood education and elementary education. She also holds a minor in Musical Theater.  She is currently pursuing a masters in Theater studies from MSU. She is about to complete her 18th year of teaching for the Secaucus school district and is without doubt one of the favorites! She is the director of the Secaucus High School Theater productions and is also the advisor to the Clarendon Drama Club (since its inception 17 years ago). She continues to try and perform in musicals with community theater groups throughout New Jersey and is the 2020 winner of Fearless Icon, a musical theater based singing competition.

Wanda Rodriquez is a certified elementary education teacher with an endorsement in science and over 30 years of experience. She has been able to break, explode, dissect & generally make a lot of big messes, all in the name of science! Here's a brief listing of some of her credentials as a Science presenter and educator:

• Liberty Science Center
• Carnegie Science Center
• New York Hall of Science
• American Museum of Natural History
• The Newark Museum
• Montclair State University
• Princeton University
• UCLA
• Bryn Mawr College
• Emory University
• Summer Institute for the Gifted
• Ridgewood Avenue School, Glen Ridge, NJ
• Little Falls Elementary, Little Falls, NJ,
• South Mountain Elementary, South Orange, NJ
• Tuscan Elementary School, Maplewood, NJ
• Lincoln School, Rutherford, NJ
• Washington School, Rutherford,NJ

Ofer Bashan completed his B.Mus. in classical Piano Performance at the Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem. He also received the prestigious Billy Joel Merit Scholarship for his Master’s in Composition at NYU. 

In Israel, he released three solo albums (original music), few singles and have written for the biggest Israeli singers. Few of his songs topped the charts. 

He has also written music for film, dance video, theatre, instrumental music, liturgical music, festivals and events, as well as scored few modern dance performances (in NY). 

His music is performed all over the world including China, London and USA. He was an Adjunct Piano Instructor at NYU

Born and raised in Tirana, Albania, Erga started her journey at 6 years of age and graduated with honors from University of Arts in Tirana, Albania. Following her graduation, she started her working career at the Philharmonic Orchestra of Albania as a pianist. She worked there for ten years and left Albania as she was awarded a full scholarship from University of South Florida for her outstanding academic achievements. Two years later she earned a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance. 

Over the years, Erga has performed in many concerts as a soloist, soloist with orchestra and chamber musician. Her wide repertoire includes: Mozart Sonatas, Beethoven Sonatas, Hayden Variations, Beethoven Variations, Scriabin Sonata, Debussy Preludes, Brahms- Paganini variations, Chopin Sonata, Chopin Ballade, Gershwin Rhapsody in blue, Liszt piano concert nr 1, Chaconne Bach, Shostakovich Sonata, Grieg Sonata, Rachmaninoff piano concert# 1, etc. Some of the concert halls that Erga has performed are The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York, NY, Barness Recital Hall, Tampa, FL, University of Arts Hall, Tirana, Albania, Red Hall, Pristina, Kosovo, Ministeru Victoria, Malta, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Erga has over 12 years of experience as a piano teacher. Some of the institutions that she has taught piano are the University of Arts and Jordan MisjaArtistic Lyceum, Tirana, Albania, Gozo Visual and Performing Arts School, Malta, University of South Florida, Tampa Florida.

Midori Howell, pianist, has performed throughout the United States and the south of England, and has often collaborated with artistic colleagues in chamber ensembles. A versatile accompanist, Ms. Howell performed as an accompanist in Carnegie Hall. She accompanied world-renowned violinist Eugene Fodor in a master class performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, and as resident accompanist for master classes with Met/Wagnerian artist, Carol Yahr, and Australian bass-baritone, Kerry Henderson. Ms. Howell holds a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance from Towson University, where she was employed as Adjunct Faculty until her relocation to New York. Also as Adjunct Faculty at Adelphi University, Midori was resident accompanist for Opera Theatre of Adelphi and piano faculty. She has taught children and adults of all ages. Midori has prepared her students for the Trinity School of Music exams and her students have emerged with the highest honors.

Ashna has a PhD in linguistics with focus on the acquisition of languages in children (3 years to 12 years) in a multilingual environment. This gave her the opportunity to understand the benefits of children learning multiple languages and its impact on their cognitive development. As a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant at New York University, she has  been teaching Hindi at the elementary,  intermediate and advanced level. she also attended a number of Startalk and ACTFL workshops which helped her improve teaching pedagogy and make it more learner oriented.

Hetal was an interior designer before pursuing her career in Montesssori education 9 years ago and completed her Montesssori teacher training in Early Childhood education. Dr. Montessori said, "You must find the work that satisfies your spirit." This work renews my spirit daily and I am honored to guide the children as they grow. As someone who can speak six languages and read-write four out of the six, being a multilingual teacher brings her joy! 

Tarun Pande holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and had worked in the corporate sector for 7 years before starting his own business in 2002. Being raised in the Hindi heartland of India, the love for the language comes easily to him. His early tutelage in Hindi came from his grandfather who was a Hindi scholar and a professor. Later in college years he introduced kids to ‘ Nukkad Nataks’ – Indian street plays, which he conceptualized and wrote dialogues for. He also holds a degree in English Literature which makes him a suitable candidate to teach Hindi to kids brought up with English as their first language.

Meredith is professionally trained and has competed in tap, jazz, ballet, modern, pointe, and musical theatre dance. Her passion for Bollywood started by becoming a background dancer for BollyX the Bollywood Workout. She has been certified for 8 years and is honored to be a part of the Kulture Kool Family!

At the age of seven, Henna was enrolled in Kathak classes in Long Island, NY. Throughout her years at home, Henna advanced gracefully through the Kathak program, and she continued to choreograph and teach Bollywood dance as well.

When moving to college at the University at Buffalo, Henna continued her passion for dance by joining the South Asian Fusion Dance team on campus, UB Zeal leading the team to make victories on and off-campus throughout the Western New York!

Now, Henna is located in Jersey City, NJ and continues to teach Kathak, Bollywood, and BollyX classes for the last 7 years regularly in the area. She is excited to bring BollyX and Bollywood to the KultureKool world!

BollyX-  featured on ABC’s SHARK TANK! , BollyX is a Bollywood-inspired dance-fitness program that combines dynamic choreography with the hottest music from Bollywood.

Roshi had the passion of dancing since she was kid and has enjoyed teaching dance for events when she was in school and college. She has been a Zumba instructor for kids in the board of education of her county (in NYC) and a Bollywood dance teacher for kids and adults at other institutions as well.