Harini Nilakantan
Excerpt from Buddaham at Sundays on State
Harini Nilakantan (she/they), is a Chicago based professional dancer, movement artist, and choreographer from Chennai, India. Harini has over 20 years of training and experience in various dance forms, most notably in Bharatanatyam, Waacking, Hiphop, and recently is studying Chicago Footwork. She began her training in Bharatanatyam at the age of four and completed her Arangetram (professional debut) at age 9 with Guru Smt. Usha Rahul's Abhinayadarpanam Dance School in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Her journey led her to her current mentor, Aacharya Choodamani Guru Smt. Roja Kannan's Bharathanatyalaya in Chennai.
Harini aims to create a flourishing space for South Asian artists in the industry and outside of it, by combining her experience as a prominent dancer and teacher with her knowledge of navigating art institutions as a holder of a Masters in Museum Studies.
She is the Lead Choreographer for Movement Of Desis for the Competitive branch, a member of axisCard, and is the Program Head of Dance at the Kalapriya Center for the Indian Performing Arts.
She is a two time Headliner for World Of Dance, Chicago, and is the current Champion of the RedBull Dance Your Style Chicago City Qualifier 2025.
Harini is also the founder/director of the Chicago based dance collective, PatchWerk, who went on to win the Groovy x Reveal Showcase sponsored by RedBullDance.
Credits: Tesher, Shreea Kaul, Diljit Dosanjh, RedBull Dance, Bhuvana Ananth
