Kiran Rajagopalan

Kiran Rajagopalan is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, educator, and podcaster based in Chicago with over 15 years of experience in arts education and non-profit organizations. As Kalapriya’s new Executive Director, Kiran brings a holistic and visionary approach to institutional operations, artistic production development, and organizational capacity-building. With his background as an active performer, teaching artist, and arts administrator, he is uniquely positioned to further uphold and expand Kalapriya’s commitment to engage Chicago’s diverse communities through South Asian art and arts education programs.

In his former role as Senior Program Director of Arts Horizons, Kiran managed a large portfolio of over 200 arts programs and a roster of over 100 teaching artists in New York and New Jersey. He specialized in developing new and impactful programs that center Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice and Social-Emotional Learning which included bilingual/multilingual and culturally-responsive arts programs.

Alongside his work in arts education, Kiran is an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer who has also deepened his artistic practice by studying Bhagavata Mela, Sri Lankan Kandyan Dance, and Afro-Orisha Dance. He has given many acclaimed performances in India, Indonesia, Germany, Spain, France, and the United States. In addition, he is the founder and artistic director of Daya Arts which develops and produces cross-cultural and educative programs rooted in traditional West African and South Asian visual and performing arts. In 2021, he launched “Off the Beat!” – a podcast on South Asian dance with Kuchipudi dancer, educator, and writer Ameya King.