Rasika School Of Dance

Rachita is the “Founder” and “Artistic Director” for the Rasika School of Dance where she educates and promotes the ancient dance form of Bharatanatyam to her students. Rachita has been trained in the “PANDANALLUR” style of Bharatanatyam and brings over 35 years of expertise to the field.

She received her initial training from Dr Mrs Sucheta Chapekar of Pune and later moved to Chennai to continue her training under the Abhinaya exponent , ‘Natyakalabhushanam” late Mrs Nirmala Ramachandran.

She is a proficient Carnatic singer and a trained Nattuvangam artist.

Rachita’s goal with the dance company has always been to introduce “Bharatanatyam” to the global masses in a unique and creative fashion; however she still strives to maintain the fundamental basics and preserve the traditions.

Rachita has secured a couple of grants from the PCA(Pennsylvania Council on the Arts)for her past productions and had her first collaboration with Gamut theatre  on their production”Pericles-King of Tyre” in 2018. She was awarded the “Folk and Traditional Arts” grant from PA council on the Arts to travel to India with one of her students and gain an in-depth knowledge from a master artist in the field of Bharatanatyam.

Rachita is an adjunct professor at the Dickinson College, Carlisle where she teaches Bharatanatyam as a part of the “International Dance “paper.

She is also a part of “Center Stage”, a unique program at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center where dance and arts is being used as a therapeutic mechanism to help patients in their recovery. Rachita’s unique approach of introducing Bharatanatyam in a story telling format through the program”Creative movements” has received much appreciation in the educational field. Her work has been showcased at the Susquehanna Art Museum(VAN GO),Hershey Public Library and the  Camp Hill school district to name a few.

Rachita recently completed her Artist Residency grant for 2020 which was funded by the Perry and PA council on the arts. She has also created a “Virtual Academy” program for the Perry Council on the Arts and is currently working on another residency project for “The Academy of Creative Aging”, also funded by the PCA.

Rachita has successfully collaborated with Gamut Theatre in Harrisburg, in bringing Bharatanatyam to a theatre stage for the first time in Central PA through “Panchatantra Tales” in April 2022. Rachita is honored to be invited back to collaborate on “The Jungle Book” with the Young Acting Company at Gamut Theatre in 2023. She also serves on the board for the Susquehanna Folk Music Society.

When Rachita is not dancing or teaching dance, she enjoys working at Derry Preschool in Hershey where she pursues her passion to educate children.