Aditi Bhagwat

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Aditi Bhagwat, born 18 January 1981 in Maharashtra, India, is an internationally acclaimed dancer, actress, and choreographer known for Kathak and Lavani. She performs worldwide, both solo and with Indian music artists. Inspired by her mother Ragini Bhagwat, she began Kathak in the Jaipur style with Roshan Kumari and Nandita Puri, and studied Odissi with Jhelum Paranjape to improve expression and posture. She holds a master’s degree in dance from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.

Her work blends traditional Indian dance with jazz and Western music. She has collaborated with the French group Business Class Refugees and with New York pianist Rod Williams. She combines Kathak gestures and rhythm with instruments like the djembe, drums, ghumbri, cuatro, sarod, and sitar. She believes in experimentation to grow as an artist, a view The Hindu noted as a mastery of the idiom. In 2012, she received the U.S. State Department’s One Beat fellowship. She writes a weekly dance column for Mi Marathi Live E-paper, starting in 2015. She has acted in lead and supporting roles in Indian films. She has been active since 1993.