The 32nd Annual Share and Care Foundation™ Gala & Fundraiser—happening Sunday, November 9, 2014—presents a dance and music spectacular in collaboration with AATMA Performing Arts.
Amit Shah brings his incomparable, mesmerizing, and unique charisma to the event of the year, “SHAKTI,” embodying Share and Care Foundation’s mission of Inspiring Change – Empower Women™, encompassing various aspects of Indian culture and the flair of Bollywood. The show features renowned musicians, brilliant dancers, breathtaking aerialists and acrobats, and over a thousand opulent costumes.
Amit Shah, Creative Director
Amit Shah, creator & director/choreographer, and president of AATMA Performing Arts, is known for his innovative eye and attention to detail as he combines his experience in theater, visual arts, and dance to serve as a compelling force in the entertainment industry. As the chief creative force, Amit’s unique dance style merges strength and sensuality, while his perception of choreography and production combines both a dancer’s emotions and an audience’s virtual experience. In 2009, Amit founded AATMA Performing Arts, which quickly became a leading worldwide brand in South Asian dance. The company has branches in New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles, and Mumbai and has become a leader in providing professional career opportunities to passionate dancers in the United States. In 2011, Amit created Mystic India: The World Tour, the international Bollywood dance spectacular that has been seen by over a quarter-million people. His work has been featured globally and received tremendous accolades from the media worldwide.
“Extremely athletic and technically perfect.”
—Mallika Sherawat (Bollywood actress)
“Visually GRAND and DYNAMIC.”
—Indian Mirror
“Their choreography is even better than the film.”
—Farah Khan (Bollywood choreographer)
“The dancer’s versatility, prowess, and finesse are REMARKABLE!”
—The STAR
“Like looking through a KALEIDOSCOPE of COLOR and BEAUTY!”
—The Weekly Voice
Amit has also worked on live shows with Priyanka Chopra and assisted in choreography on Bollywood film sets with Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Genelia D’Souza, and Shahrukh Khan’s production house, Red Chilles Entertainment. In 2012, he launched Andaz Costume Design, a company dedicated to designing and fabricating costumes to dance companies around the world, and Aura Events & Entertainment, an event production company that plans private, corporate, and other branded events. In 2013, Amit founded South Asian Choreographer’s Alliance with the goal of uniting South Asian artists and choreographers for the purpose of cultural preservation. He has also been a chief public speaker at a number of colleges to promote the pursuit of passion as a career and continues to conduct workshops on dance, entrepreneurship, and brand building to inspire students and future generations to make their dreams into reality.
Kruti Shah, Assistant Director/Choreographer
Kruti Shah’s individuality as an artist is captured in the height of her ability, the depth of her training, and the breadth of her global appeal. Her ability to combine the idiosyncratic Indian classical styles of bharatnatyam and kathak with Western disciplines—among them, ballet, pointe, tap, hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, and modern—belies a lifetime of intensive training, and a dedication to collaboration over isolation.
About AATMA
AATMA Performing Arts is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed dance company and performing arts institution founded by Amit Shah. A pioneer in fusing Indian classical and folk dance styles with modern forms of movement, AATMA has received numerous accolades from the media in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia for being the first U.S.-based Indian dance company to make international headway. The company has opened for Carrie Underwood in Las Vegas, and performed for executives of many Fortune 100 companies including General Electric, MasterCard, Bank of America, PepsiCo, BravoTV, and MTV, as well as in major casinos, amusement parks, and performing arts centers all over the world. In 2011, AATMA produced the first U.S.-based international traveling Indian dance spectacle, Mystic India: The World Tour, which has now traveled to over four continents and sold out hundreds of venues both in the United States and overseas. The production continues to travel and has been seen by over 300,000 people in the last year alone.
AATMA Performing Arts also created a professional dance institution that gives students a balance between Indian and American culture, extensive dance training, as well as a platform to perform on a professional caliber. Students of the AATMA Performing Arts dance school have been the champion at every state and national competition they have ever performed in, and the school has established itself as the leading South Asian dance institution in North America.
With an internationally acclaimed dance troupe and a competitive dance institution, AATMA’s focus is to preserve the culture of India, while incorporating it with American dance genres to create a brilliant fusion of the western and eastern world. The company continues to globally influence trends in Indian and fusion dance.
