Jeevika Bhat
Preforming “,still;”
Choreography by Jeevika Bhat

Jeevika Bhat is a dancer and choreographer who explores the confluence of her cultures through a contemporary Indian medium. Her background is in Odissi, an East Indian classical dance form known for its nuanced storytelling and graceful fluidity. She has been learning under the guidance of Guru Jyoti Rout for the past two decades, and is now a teacher and choreographer with her dance company, Jyoti Kala Mandir. Academically, she is a graduate of UC San Diego, where she earned a BS in Mathematics with minors in Linguistics and Dance, and UC Irvine, where she earned an MFA in Dance.

Instagram – @jeevika.bhat

Umami Playground Dance Company
Performing “月(Moon), 水(Water), 日(Sun)”
Lead Choreographers: Yurie Ono, Guangmin Shen in collaboration with dancers

Yurie Ono, born and raised in Japan, started dancing at age four with ballet before shifting to street dance with the SIVA dance team at Obihiro University. Over the years, she learned various styles including street jazz, hip-hop, waacking, house, breaking, and locking. She won the championship at the GATSBY Dance Competition in Hokkaido. After graduation, she trained with Chibi Unity in Niigata. In 2018, she moved to NYC, joining A Rhythm Company, where she quickly became co-director, leading the team to victory in 2020. In 2023, she ranked top 5 in the Fabulous Waacking Battle in NYC. Currently, she directs Umami Playground Dance Company and teaches regularly at PJM Dance NYC, Gramercy Dance Studios, Dreamer Dance NYC, and i KADA DANCE CENTER.

Guangmin Shen, also known as GuaGua, has been dancing since 2009, starting with street styles (popping, hip-hop, street jazz). He began training in NYC in 2016, exploring various styles, particularly House. He has choreographed for The Neighbors dance team and won multiple competitions. In 2022, he founded the Umami Playground Dance company, continuing his creative work. He has also participated in numerous local freestyle dance battles, reaching the top 16 to final several times. Recently, he has started learning Korean dance and incorporating his own ethnic rhythmic dance style into his creations and freestyle.

Website: https://guangminshen.wixsite.com/umamiplayground
Instagram: @umamiplayground

Photo credit: Sean Chee

PLAYBILL

Fast Forward is made possible, in part, with private funds from the Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and public funds from the NY State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the NY State Legislature.