Soumya
Gogula
Growing up in America, Soumya enjoyed dancing at family and community events and found that it was a way to connect with her Indian culture. She continued to dance throughout her schooling and danced competitively as part of her collegiate Garba/Raas and Bollywood Fusion teams. After joining the workforce, Soumya deliberately found opportunities to continue to include dance in her life - she couldn’t let it go!
When Soumya moved to the Pacific Northwest for work and family, she joined BollyWorks (a Bollywood dance school in Redmond, WA) as a student and quickly grew to become an instructor and was an integral part of Project Bollywood (the annual student showcase). Not only was she an advanced dancer with the BollyWorks Troupe, she was an instructor and choreographer, audio/video editor, backend show manager, and more. Soumya was involved with all things backend and frontend for BollyWorks for a number of years before moving out of Washington.
In addition to Bollywood dance choreography, Soumya is passionate about fitness and was a co-founder of BollyWorks Fitness (a Bollywood Fitness format). The program was created as a way for people to get fit while dancing to popular Bollywood tunes. As a BollyWorks Fitness Master Instructor, Soumya taught fitness classes at local gyms, fitness stores, university events, private events, and more. Soumya also led BollyWorks Fitness instructor trainings to train aspiring instructors to teach the BollyWorks Fitness format. Soumya moved to Denver in 2022 with a wealth of experience in Bollywood dance and fitness. She was looking for other passionate Bollywood dancers to dance with. Late in 2022, she founded Denver Dhadak with a group of friends as a way to share the love of Bollywood dance with each other. Today, Denver Dhadak has grown into a Bollywood Dance Company that aspires to share the love of Bollywood dance with the Colorado community.
Tarang Hundiwala
While Tarang can occasionally shake a leg, he reserves his moves for Denver Dhadak afterparties. A transplant from the East Coast, he moved to Colorado during the 2020 pandemic and now calls Aurora home. As Denver Dhadak’s Team Manager, you might see Tarang running around at dance performances or competitions, keeping the team aligned on the backend and handling marketing/outreach for private events.
Yashdeep Padey
Experienced as a Bollywood, Jazz, Contemporary, Bhangra, and Hip-Hop dance instructor and choreographer, Yashdeep has always loved to dance. He has performed in a number of events in Pune, conducted workshops on the streets, and danced competitively in the collegiate Bhangra circuit. While not dancing, he loves cooking and is a huge adventure junkie always chasing that adrenaline rush!
Sophia Maharana
A passionate Bollywood dancer since a young age, Sophia’s interests revolve around fitness, traveling, cooking, a new-found love for shuffling and creating trending Instagram reels/challenges. Sophia is a key choreographer for Denver Dhadak's competitive performances at events like World of Dance and Colorado State Dance Championship, and also the unofficial leader for all our Instagram challenges!
RIA
MITTAL
Ria has been dancing ever since she was a toddler. In high school, she attended the Shiamak Davar Institute and performed multiple shows with them along with building a base in Kathak. After taking a break from dancing during her undergrad, Ria jumped right back into it and performed competitively with Team D'versity at Northeastern University in Boston. After moving to Denver in 2018, Ria continued her passion with Desi Caliente and found a new family with Denver Dhadak. When she is not making reels or choreographing and preparing dance numbers for her friends' weddings, Ria loves traveling, playing with puppies, trying new baking/cooking recipes and enjoys a wide variety of arts and crafts.
Pooja Bhalekar
Born and raised in the birthplace of Bollywood- Mumbai, Pooja started with classical Bharatnatyam training in her childhood and eventually gravitated towards Bollywood. She moved to the Mile High City in 2020 and like many of its residents, enjoys outdoor activities as well as traveling and exploring new cuisines and cultures. Pooja joined Denver Dhadak at its inception in 2022 and assists in choreographing team performances.
SARTHAK
BAL
A Colorado resident since 2018, Sarthak's passion for content creation and photography originated from video games. You can either find him in dance workshops capturing media content, contributing to backend support in a variety of ways or sometimes even in front of the camera as part of the Performance Team. When Sarthak is not busy with Denver Dhadak activities, he is off exploring new places, playing with dogs, indulging in gaming, unleashing his creativity through DIY craft projects, or savoring the flavors of Indian cuisine in his kitchen.
Sharvari
Chougule
Dancing has been one of Sharvari's passions. It all started with Kathak and then she jumped into Bollywood, Hip-Hop, and Contemporary styles. Since childhood, Sharvari has danced at different events and even choreographed some performances. Denver Dhadak has been a big part of keeping her connected to her favorite hobby, especially with a busy corporate life. Outside of dancing, she loves hiking, cooking, painting, and exploring new foods and small towns. Ever since she moved to Denver in 2020, she's been soaking up all the adventures Colorado has to offer.
SHRUTI JITURI
Shruti has been immersed in the world of Bollywood dance since the young age of 8. Her initial foray into dance involved blending the classical elegance of Kathak with the urban pulse of Bollywood. Shruti has been a part of Denver Dhadak since 2023 and this has played a significant role in helping her stay engaged with her beloved hobby, particularly amidst her hectic corporate schedule. Since relocating to Denver in 2020, Shruti has dived into the plethora of adventures that Colorado has to offer, most of which include hikes with her Pyrenees/Collie dog – Coconut! When she's not dancing with Denver Dhadak's teams, Shruti enjoys exploring new global destinations and sampling diverse culinary delights.
AISHWARYA
RAO
Aishwarya is a passionate dancer, having trained in Kuchipudi for 10 years since the age of five. Although she enjoys all kinds of dance forms, she is currently back to her roots, focusing on perfecting her Kuchipudi skills. In addition to dancing, Aishwarya loves staying fit, trying out DIY projects, traveling, adventurous activities and of course, food!!
