Founder-led performing arts training center in Texas with 25+ years of documented student outcomes across multi-genre cultural, recreational, and competitive programs spanning the USA, India, and Nepal.
Celebrating all our guest artists who have performed with us in past in our journey of dance productions. These guest artist are invited to come and perform with their own work. The talent that they perform are not taught by us. These are not our students either. They have their own dance/talent academy at some place/city or have their own group that they perform. We pick their performance piece dance based on our dance production.
These Guest Artist are local or new artists who have just stepped in the world of Indian Performing Arts or have just started performing.
It is our absolute honor to introduce them to our audiences and as well work with them.
2016 : Dance of Gods : Adi-Shakti.
Event : A fundraiser for CRY America showcasing Bharatanatyam,
Bollywood, Indian Folk Dances.
Fusion Dances by Elites in respective categories.
Guest Artist :
Dancer : Meghna Murali, A Bharatanatyam dance presentation on Devi.
Singer : Mala Pydimari, Carnatic Singer.
2017 : Jalso : Celebration of Life with Dance,
Event : Nritya Ki Masti, Navarasa in Bharatanatyam,
Bollywood And Indian Folk Dances.
A seperate presentation of Fusion Dances was also showed by our own
students, elites-trained in 3 different dance forms/styles.
Guest Artist :
Dancer : Easter Bunny.
2018 : ABCD - American Born Cultured Desi
Event : Participating fundraiser for a private foundation-Cqunce Inc.
Dances in Bharatanatyam, Bollywood & Indian Folk Dances
featuring Festivals of India or celebrated by Indians outside India.
A special 11 minute tribute to Shahrukh Khan - King of Bollywood.
Exclusive Fusion Dances were showcased by our elites who are trained
in 2-3 different dance forms.
Guest Artists : Dances :
Mishu Shashtri with her team for Bollywood Garba featuring Navratri.
Ritu Kharbanda with her team of Rang Barse duet featuring Holi.
Instruments :
Arjun Iyer (Middle Schooler, LISD School Band)-Clarinet & Keyboard.
Kedar Golvekar : Introducing Music for SRK Tribute on Guitar.
2019 : Anantha-1 Dance Production. Special Presentations by Rinku Das for Kathak and Manipuri.
2019 : Anantha-1 Dance Production.
Event : An Exclusive Dance Production featuring a full
Bharatanatyam Margam,Copyright Dances in Bharatanatyam,
Folk Dances of India featuring North, East, West & South India.
Special presentation by Elites for Fusion dances such as Swala Jathi,
Rabindra Nruthya. Fully trained in their own dances.
Guest Artist :
Dances :
Rinku Das for Kathak Classical Dances
Rinku Das for Manipuri Classical Dances.
Rinku Das was also introducing choreographer for our company that year.
Singing :
Our own elite student-Ashna Pethe representing LISD choir.
Exclusive Copyrights by Reach Media for Hetal Joshi | Grace & Grooves | Grace Creations | Grace And Grooves 2012-2019. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
2013 and onwards, Grace And Grooves started teaching Bollywood/Tollywood-Indian Movie Dance Lessons with structured programs. Songs such as Bahubali, Jai Ganesh, Krishna Leela, Heer, Tamma Tamma(Remix) and many more were acknowledged and requested by clients and organizers to perform in community/cultural events and auditions/competitions over and over again. Some of the listed songs that we performed were non-movie songs remixes such as Come and Get it by Selena Gomez, Cheap-Thrills combined with indian songs etc. T’was fun teaching them.
Personal achievements of choreographers with their other dance activities ARE NOT listed. You can check those out in our other blog post! Multiple Entry of same song means it was performed multiple times but with entirely new choreography with absolutely no relevance with previous one. All dancers in non-indian dance forms or styles are fully trained dancers at competitive levels.
These dances have won/taught at recreational, competition and as freelance paid or volunteer workshops (with/without performances) under the exclusive label of Grace And Grooves LLC, or Hetal Nagaraj and our other past/present choreographers and our elites as Assistant Choreographers:Nirja Setty and Ashna Pethe.
Format of below listing – Song Name, Movie/Album-Year, Starring or Singers/if private album. Choreographers Name. Assistant Choreographer as Asst. (Practices or few couple sequences.).
The number of songs prepared differently do not relate to the number of performances:
Bollywood-Maine Payal Hai Chhankaai-Album (1999), Falguni Pathak.
2nd Place Group-Best Dress, Best Choreography. Hetal Nagaraj. Direct Competition Work. Irving-Texas, Plano-Texas.
This dance was inspired from Hetal Nagaraj’s own cousin sister’s dance:Jasmin Bhatt.
Different choreography was then taught twice to 2 different age groups and was successfully performed in Group and Duet in cultural events at Irving-Texas, Arlington-Texas, Grapevine, Texas.
Above were different age groups had successfully cleared auditions in other Bollywood Competitions as well.(Duets).
Bollywood-Dil To Pagal Hai Medley (1997-Shahrukh Khan, Karishma Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene). Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Lewisville-Texas.
Bollywood-Chak Dhoom Dhoom(1997-Shahrukh Khan, Karishma Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene). Group-Students, Carrollton-Texas.
Bollywood-Tumko Piya Dil Diya Kitne Naaz Se, Shikari (1963). Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Irving-Texas.
Bollywood-Pankh Hote Re Ud Aati Re, Sehra(1963). Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Irving-Texas
Bollywood-Radha On The Dance Floor – Student of the Year (2012-Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan). Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Flowermound-Texas. Frisco-Texas.
Bollywood-Ek Pal Ka Jeena(Copy That Exact)KAHO NA PYAR HAI(2000-Hrithik Roshan, Amisha Patel). Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Irving-Las Colinas, Texas.
Bollywood-Maye Ne Maye, Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994-Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit), Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Irving-Texas.
Bollywood-Koi Ladki Hai Jab, Dil To Pagal Hai(1997-Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Karishma Kapoor). Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Lewisville-Texas, Carrollton-Texas.
1st Place with the best dress, best choreography, graceful theme, best-makeup Hetal Nagaraj. Asst. Choreographer-Mansi Chauhan. Competition Work-Hetal Nagaraj. Solo.
Hindi Bahubali, Kaun Hai Voh, Group and Solo-Students. Tantex-Hetal Nagaraj. Lewisville-Texas, Irving-Texas.
Tamil Bahubali, Siva Sivaya Potri. Group and Solo-Students. Hetal Nagaraj, Asst. Mansi Chauhan.
Bollywood-Thug Le, Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl (2011-Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma). Mansi Chauhan. Asst. Hetal Nagaraj. Group and Solo-Students. Lewisville-Texas.
Bollywood-Thug Le-Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl(Remix-Own). Hetal Nagaraj. Solo. Irving-Texas.
Bollywood-Mujhe Rang De-Thakshak (1999-Ajay Devgan, Tabu). Deepthi Chandrasekaran, Hetal Nagaraj. Group Students. Irving-Texas.
Bollywood-Nimbooda-Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999-Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). Mansi Chauhan, Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Students. Lewisville-Texas.
Bollywood-Nimbooda-Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999-Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). Mansi Chauhan. Asst. Hetal Nagaraj. Solo-Students. Lewisville-Texas.
Bollywood – Tumko Piya. Movie-Shikari. Hetal Nagaraj. Group-Lewiville/Texas.
Bollywood Bhangra Remix w/Shape of You – Hetal Nagaraj. Group – Irving-Texas, Plano-Texas, Lewisville-Texas.
Bollywood Radha. Movie-Jab Harry Met Sejal. Hetal Nagaraj. Group – Irving – Texas, Plano-Texas.
Tollywood Radha. Movie-Jab Harry Met Sejal. Hetal Nagaraj. Group – Irving – Texas, Plano-Texas.
Tamil Radha. Movie-Jab Harry Met Sejal. Hetal Nagaraj. Irving – Texas, Plano-Texas.
Bollywood – Kar Gai Chul. Movie-Kapoor & Sons. Hetal Nagaraj. Irving-Texas.
Bollywood – Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya. Hetal Nagaraj. Irving-Texas. Lewisville-Texas.
Bollywood – Hanuman Gun Sagar . Private Album. Hetal Nagaraj. Irving-Texas, Plano-Texas.
The pre-made MP3 files in various combinations of these songs are available with/without added beats/musics from other sources for sale for $10 for each remix with exclusive copyright to re-use without using our name in tag anywhere. The original songs are available everywhere irrespective of copyrights. Ours is performance oriented and its not original song. you can own it for your dance school or dance groups without any efforts by buying it. No edits. Take it or Leave it. Choreography not included with these files. Welcome to ask for it and it will be sold with seperate price tag depending on copyrights on it (as they are our Competition Dances). Average mixes are about 5 minutes while some up-to 10minutes.
Why ?
Because At Grace And Grooves LLC, we don’t really like to repeat same songs unless requested a lot or for specific purposes even for teaching 😉 OR we make them all over again with other sets of remixes or beats or added music to it. It is FUN and that is what Bollywood/Tollywood/Indian Movie Dances ALL ABOUT. FUN……..SAFELY 😉
OH YEAH, WE ARE GOING TO TRASH THESE MIX-UPS ANYWAYS 😉
Exclusive Copyrights by Reach Media for Hetal Joshi | Grace & Grooves | Grace Creations | Grace And Grooves 2012-2017.
This material can not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If found being copied without permission will be sued in the court of law.
Grace And Grooves holds exclusive rights for all the content & pictures being posted with permission of organizers for exclusive Grace And Groove use only. Exclusive Copyrights by Reachh Mediaa from 2013 for Hetal Joshi | Grace & Grooves | Grace Creations | Grace And Grooves 2012-current
All Pictures posted here are with an exclusive consent of participating students, parents or school staffs. This material can not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Recital 2018 concept and theme was decided in 2016 by Hetal Nagaraj.
The students in beginning of 2017 were actually taught dances like-wise throughout the year covering just the basics staying in their own category.
The whole idea got the shape in October 2017 when a rough playlist was made. A couple of these dances were also showcased in some of local talent competitions (September-October 2017), Diwali Mela(s)-(November 2017) at various places and other local festival stages. And a few of these had already won the awards too such as Pushpanjali, Madhurashtakam (Practice video-Selected for finals).
With all the influences of Non.Indian Culture in our Indian Dances, Dramas and thus our lives, we thought of showing how a life of our next generations that are brought up here. As it says, A=American, B=Born, C=Confused, D=Desis. But for our students of Grace And Grooves, C stands for CULTURED DESI, CLEAR FUNDAMENTALS, AND CRYSTAL CUT Diamond like TALENTS. Talents that can’t be beaten, Talents that can’t be judged with shallow mark-ups or untrained eyes and Talents that can’t be shadowed.
Grace And Grooves is an Indian Dance School where students know difference between Bollywood And Indian Folk Dances, Bollywood And Bharatnatyam, Bharatnatyam and Indian Folk, Semi-Classical And Bharatnatyam too!
So the recital program 2018 of Grace And Grooves had Pure Bharatnatyam that showcased the richness of Indian Classical Dances to Fun Indian Folk, Fusion Folk, Movie Types Semi-Classical Dances infused with & without Desi-HipHop to real semi-classical dances, Bollywood Modern-Contemporary Desi-HipHop Fusions and Folk And the dance dramas inspired from movies such as Bahubali, Veer Zaara & many more.
Grace And Grooves successfully completed NAVARASA as per Natya Shashtra Guidelines in Bharatnatyam, Indian Folk Dances And Bollywood/Movie Dances in 2017-2018 year. All the dances are directed or choreographed exclusively by Hetal Nagaraj unless otherwise mentioned. Our Company Choreographers contributed with dances on Ramta Jogi by Mansi Chauhan and Ganesh Kavtuvam by Buvuneshwari Murugan.
We cannot forget Indian Movies that teaches us to dream big and live-happily ever after within our cultural boundaries—no matter where we go. Thus, our Special Feature of the evening & 90s Tribute was An Exclusive Tribute to Shahrukh Khan of Bollywood – SRK as we know him. It showcased non-stop 11 mins of SRK’s movie dances by around 20+ students and special appearances from Raghu K and Pavithra K. Videos will be shortly available.
Very first time in our recital, we had Guest Choreographers with Rang Barse-Holi Remix Tribute by Ritu Kharbanda and Bollywood Garba on Nagada Sang Dhol Baaje By Mishu Shashtri. Our Guest-Artist this time was a young artist – Arjun Iyer, Age 11 who played various notes starting from National Anthem of USA with music to notable Tamil Songs on Keyboard-Piano and Clarinet. Guest choreographer Ritu Kharbanda contributed with song of Om Shanti Om to our SRK non.stop dance extravaganza as her contribution to salute our King Khan with Harshita and Gargi.
All students, choreographers were acknowledged with participating medals and certificates during the show and later-during the classes. Below are the all the pictures, Enjoy And Don’t forget to sign up for our lessons : www.graceandgrooves.com
Bharatnatyam Pushpanjali. Concept, Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj. University Level Work.
Golden Era of Movies in various Languages : 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s From Semi-Classical Mujras To Desi Hip Hop Infused with various Indian Folk Dances.Concept,Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
Recital 2018 Dance Dramas In Pure Bharatnatyam, Semi-Classical, Indian Folk And Bollywood/Movie Dances In Various Languages. Concept,Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
Our tribute to Gujarati Sahitya @Recital 2018. Abhinaya covering Navarasa in Pure Bharatnatyam-Gujarati Dance Drama with Gujarati Classical Music. Concept, Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
Recital 2018 Dances In Pure Bharatnatyam, Semi-Classical, Indian Folk And Bollywood/Movie Dances In Various Languages. Concept,Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
Recital 2018 Dance Dramas In Pure Bharatnatyam, Semi-Classical, Indian Folk And Bollywood/Movie Dances In Various Languages. Concept,Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
Golden Era of Movies in various Languages : 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s From Semi-Classical Mujras To Desi Hip Hop Infused with various Indian Folk Dances. Concept,Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
We did Bahubali 1 and won several competitions in Solos & Groups. How can we not do Bahubali 2. Concept,Choreography, Choreographer, Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
A Special Tribute of 90s & Later was for our SRK – Shah rukh Khan. A 11 Minute Non.Stop Dancing By Around 20 Dancers featuring his movie dances with our choreography n his famous dance moves. Choreography, Choreographer Hetal Nagaraj. Concept & Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
A Special Tribute of 90s & Later was for our SRK – ShahRukh Khan. A 11 Minute Non.Stop Dancing By Around 20 Dancers featuring his movie dances with our choreography n his famous dance moves. Choreography, Choreographer Hetal Nagaraj. Concept & Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
A Special Tribute of 90s & Later was for our SRK – Shahrukh Khan. A 11 Minute Non.Stop Dancing By Around 20 Dancers featuring his movie dances with our choreography n his famous dance moves. Choreography, Choreographer Hetal Nagaraj. Om Shanti Om Title Song By Ritu Kharbanda. Concept & Direction by Hetal Nagaraj.
Our Company Choreographers for Ganesh Kavtuvam By Bhuvaneshwari Murugan and Ramta Jogi By Mansi.
Special Thanks :
Mishu Shastri-Dance, Ritu Kharbanda-Dance for their wonderful participation in Recital 2018, A Fusion Life of ABCD.
Arjun Iyer for Instruments.(Pic Added Jan-2,2020)
Kedar Golvelkar For Music on Guitar (Ankhon Mein Teri),
Exclusive Copyrights by Reach Media for Hetal Joshi Nagaraj| Grace & Grooves | Grace Creations | Grace And Grooves | Nruthyakala Dance Academy | Mirchi Dance Academy | Kalasri Classical Dance Academy : 2012-2020.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The Competitions & Performances that we go have Judges with following qualifications with full transparency required for students to be eligible such as submitting videos, pictures, program specs, and all the other details :
Degrees in Performing Arts (Indian for Indian Dances),
Straight Background With Full Proof & Traceability,
Versatile Dancers In Their Genre – Non Stop Stage Dancers.
Full Hands-Onn w/Knowledge From Right Sources ( traceable background or universities-not the universities such as gandharv.)
Competitions We Do :
As such we have won several competitions but we have only accounted in our bags that we have done it independently ourselves and have judges who are qualified in field of Indian Performing Arts-who know what to look for in dance forms or styles, if mentioned likewise.
Non-Voting, Strict by Genre, Category, Dance Forms, Rules of Dance Form, Rubrics, Guidelines, Marks and Feedbacks by Judges with straight background, Local or International Depending on all of above.
Competitions in partnership with other dance schools/teachers are NOT INCLUDED in our list.
We do not sponsor the awards or competitions that we take part in. Please contact hetal at mail2hets@gmail.com for sponsorships.
We do not do reality competitions YET. These are not institutionalized or educational competitions.
Competitions where voting criteria is 10/100 or more at any levels are not included in our list. You are welcome to take freelance lessons from us to participate but we will not participate in voting. We will not take those on our list.
Judges who do not have any knowledge of dance or cannot outline the difference between simple things such as bollywood vs folk, fusion vs bollywood, and so on! If you do not know the rules of dance form then there is no point in judging. And so, we do not take part in those competitions.
Participant Awards are NOT listed or considered for us-obviously and that includes students who get participant awards during competitions just for participating and not winning competitions for any runner ups awards either. Culture awards are not competition awards 🙂
Wins at the Competitions that misrepresented categories/competitions/malrepresentation by the organizers are NOT listed.
Eg-Represented as Indian FOLK Competition but it was actually a Bollywood Competition and so they are NOT LISTED HERE. We have won such competitions as well.
Only legitimate competitions are listed.
We DO NOT teach Tap/Jazz/Ballet. Students who took part in fusion dances that included tap/jazz or ballet were trained from Ballet Academy of Texas(Coppell) and Prestige Dance Company(Lewisville-former Coppell Dance Center)for 2months+ or were already avid trained dancers or good gymnasts.
We taught them only Indian Classical Dance(Bharatnatyam)or Indian Folk Dance and the Fusion work to go together based on what they knew.
Some competitions are listed together as only 1 award was given for consecutive years win or in same year as prizes had material gifts/or gift cards for participants or same work received awards in 2 different places by different participants or same participants. There was only 1 ceremony for awards that happened.
Competitions that are not worth our attention –>
Students are neglected, mis-treated, insulted by organizers are NOTworth of our time. We will pass their info-you are welcome to compete but keep us out of it.
Organizers are in favor of other dance schools and allowed several re-takes to them but not to us-for no good reason are NOT worth our time. We DO NOT want children to go through that traumatic experiences.
Students are questioned about their well-being priorities only because organizer couldn’t see the child winning in-spite of stopping the vote entries are NOT worth of your child’s time.
Organizers that offer inappropriate stage areas, dressing room areas or unsafe dance conditions are eliminated from our list for any future participations due to SAFETY GUIDELINES concerning child’s safety. We don’t come there to dance in 5-8 steps of stage area.
A stage or organizer who cannot respect a child’s presence while talking just about anything that they have in mind insulting kids and their parents whatsoever, esp. talking in extremely loud voice and misbehaving in front of children because you couldn’t handle pressures (while others were allowed to do same-all drama in front of child)-is not worth our attention.
Please learn your manners FIRST when you treat a child.
Stop treating them like trash — this tells us about your parenting! Not our parents’.
An organizer who is bias to us in all the privileges given to other participants will not need our attention at any given point of time. If you have made up your mind in not allowing us to avail the privileges then why should we make kids suffer through your misconduct and inappropriate behavior just for a trophy ?
Constructive feedbacks are very welcomed. We have come this far only because of constructive feedbacks. Please tell us your background before you judge!
All of above are NOT sarcastic humor incidents and are ruled out by experiences in recent competitions and we do not want any child to face such a traumatic experience just for a competition! Our kids/students are very precious to us.
Other Blog Posts where such a traumatic incident happened : Read Here.
Exclusive Copyrights by Reach Media for Hetal Joshi | Grace & Grooves | Grace Creations | Grace And Grooves 2012-2021. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Everybody in this world has their inspiration from somewhere or something. So do we and all our names. Just out of sky it did not come in our mind to get these names on our paper to register them as our own. With so many theories out there about names, we had to clear our own lists of all the DBA(s), Logo(s)….
Our Logo in 2012. It had variations such as Grace And Grooves, Grace n Grooves, Grace Grooves, Grace & Grooves, etc.
Grace And Grooves LLC (2012) : This is sort of like additional information on how we got our name. As shared in link above on Grace And Grooves LLC(2012), we got our name from audiences. Topic 2 From Here.
Here’s little more to nail-biting situation we were put through for name!
One of other variation that was used…2012 onwards.
We encountered unforeseen challenges during our participation in this walk-in competition. When asked to provide the name of our dance company, we realized we had not yet established one and were unsure how to respond. It was surprising, as the event organizer had not disclosed the requirement for a company name prior to the competition and had accepted our entry without such information.
Despite this uncertainty, the grace, poise, and originality of our choreography spoke for itself. Our performance was even compared to a widely viewed YouTube routine with over a million views. Though this initially caused us some concern, our efforts were ultimately validated when we were honored with the first-place award.
We were informed that, should we win, we would need to provide a name by the end of the event for the purpose of announcing the results. We were the only participants without an official group or company name at the time, which made our entry stand out. It became apparent that the organizers were not in favor of unregistered participants, and this requirement seemed to reflect that preference.
Our New Logo in 2015 September that we got made for Indian Folk Dances, Bharatnatyam and Fusion Dances. Bollywood was not really program back then. We started Bollywood off-late after September and logo was already done by then!!
During one of our early performances, a kind American attendee—married to an Indian—approached our team with a heartfelt compliment. Though she did not understand the language or the meaning of the song, she expressed that the choreography was so moving, it touched her deeply. Upon being asked, she specifically mentioned the final dance sequence as the moment that brought tears to her eyes.
The piece in question depicted the spiritual bond between Meera, a devoted follower of Lord Krishna, and the Lord Himself. Before the performance, the narrative was shared with the audience to provide context. The particular sequence that resonated with her portrayed Meera’s complete surrender to Lord Krishna through the Hare Krishna dhun (devotional chants), symbolizing her transcendence from the material world.
This touching duet was performed by Nirja Setty and her school friend (name withheld upon request), both adorned in custom-designed Kerala-style Tissue Pattu Pavadai. The fabric was specially ordered from India and the costumes were meticulously stitched and re-designed locally in Irving-Coppell, Texas, USA.
The emotional impact of the dance, especially as seen through the eyes of someone unfamiliar with the language but moved by its expression, marked a defining moment for us. It was in that very moment—when we were called on stage to receive the first-place award—that we spontaneously named ourselves Grace and Grooves. The name was spoken instinctively, and we immediately embraced it. It felt right. It felt like us.
The judges offered glowing feedback: “Beautiful choreography, dramatic appearances, well-executed, and stunning costumes and props.” One judge even asked, “How did you manage to choreograph something so beautiful to this song?”—a question we’ve since heard many times, and each time it brings us joy.
The choreography was created by Hetal Nagaraj, drawing from her rich training and inspirations. At the time, both performers were studying Bharatanatyam and Indian Folk Dance (pure forms) under our guidance. The intention was to prepare them as a duet team for an upcoming competition, pending audition results. While awaiting those results, we discovered this walk-in competition and decided to participate spontaneously.
This choreography has since won numerous awards—often back-to-back—and continues to captivate audiences. It’s a piece no one seems to tire of, and we continue to be humbled by the recurring question: “How did you do it?”
CALL NOW 972 979 2559 or Email : info@graceandgrooves.com
Grace Creations Logo that was created much later. Before that, several works were done in fusion dances.
Grace Creations(2013) :
Our name was directly inspired by an Indian artistic dance company based on the East Coast of the United States. From the moment we were introduced to their work—through a friend who shared their YouTube videos—we were captivated. This introduction occurred after our friend had seen Mrs. Nagaraj’s semi-classical performance and felt compelled to show us similar, inspiring content.
Another key source of inspiration was an Indian dance school in Georgia, USA, known for their beautifully executed and uniquely crafted fusion choreography. Both of these esteemed institutions are rooted in Bharatanatyam and have made a significant impact on the Indian classical and fusion dance communities in the U.S.
While we admired and began following their work, we were also committed to developing our own artistic identity. We infused a wide range of styles and dance forms into our choreography—sometimes staying within the boundaries of a particular tradition, and at other times pushing creative limits entirely. Nonetheless, all of our students received foundational training in the original classical forms to ensure the integrity and authenticity of each style was respected.
Much of our fusion choreography is performed under the banner Grace Creations—a creative extension of our artistic vision. Grace Creations would later evolve to perform independently in the years to come and is currently on hiatus.
CALL NOW 972 979 2559 or Email : info@graceandgrooves.com
Nruthyakala Dance Academy(2017) : The word comes from words Nruthya (or Nritya meaning dance) and Kala meaning Art. We had in mind several other names but we needed a name that goes for both the dance forms – Bharatanatyam and Indian Folk Dances(India). Main idea was to have Nruthya(Nritya meaning Dance) that is combination of Nritta and Natya – both;thus separating these two beautiful forms from all the other programs that we offer. Eventually, it may happen that Bharatnatyam and Indian Folk Dances may operate separately but until then this is it-we loved this as it best-fits our need!
CALL NOW 972 979 2559 or Email : info@graceandgrooves.com
Mirchi Dance Academy(2017): This word was decided last year! Very well, it came from Red Chillies Entertainment (An Entertainment Company in Mumbai, India). Mirchi(meaning hot pepper/chillies) is always a must have in plate if you have roots from Kathyavaad. Coming from hybrid-gujarati family, we were born eating tasty peppers/chillies with our all-time favorite theplas, stuffed paranthas or bajri-rotlas with all the other goodies. Some habits don’t go, they say! From our food plate to our DBA name. And you thought we don’t love Bollywood :)…Yes, bring it onn. It is tasty!
Kalasri and (often used kalashri by most media) Classical was as is acquisition, the name is not changed. Company was too teritorial for irving, keller, southlake and south irving to have logo rather on verge of shutdown until Ms. Hetal took it over.
Exclusively written by Hetal Nagaraj. Copyright Reach Media for Grace And Grooves | Grace Creations | Nruthyakala Dance Academy | Mirchi Dance Academy | 2011-current. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
2016 : Dance of Gods : Adi-Shakti. Event : A fundraiser for CRY America showcasing Bharatanatyam, Bollywood, Indian Folk Dances. Fusion Dances by Elites in respective categories. Guest Artist : Dancer : Meghna Murali, A Bharatanatyam dance presentation on Devi. Singer : Mala Pydimari, Carnatic Singer.
2018 : ABCD - American Born Cultured Desi Event : Participating fundraiser for a private foundation-Cqunce Inc. Dances in Bharatanatyam, Bollywood & Indian Folk Dances featuring Festivals of India or celebrated by Indians outside India. A special 11 minute tribute to Shahrukh Khan - King of Bollywood. Exclusive Fusion Dances were showcased by our elites who are trained in 2-3 different dance forms. Guest Artists : Dances : Mishu Shashtri with her team for Bollywood Garba featuring Navratri. Ritu Kharbanda with her team of Rang Barse duet featuring Holi. Instruments : Arjun Iyer (Middle Schooler, LISD School Band)-Clarinet & Keyboard. Kedar Golvekar : Introducing Music for SRK Tribute on Guitar.
2019 : Anantha-1 Dance Production. Event : An Exclusive Dance Production featuring a full Bharatanatyam Margam,Copyright Dances in Bharatanatyam, Folk Dances of India featuring North, East, West & South India. Special presentation by Elites for Fusion dances such as Swala Jathi, Rabindra Nruthya. Fully trained in their own dances. Guest Artist : Dances : Rinku Das for Kathak Classical Dances Rinku Das for Manipuri Classical Dances. Rinku Das was also introducing choreographer for our company that year. Singing : Our own elite student-Ashna Pethe representing LISD choir.
Recital 2018 concept and theme was decided in 2016 by Hetal Nagaraj. 
Grace And Grooves by Hetal Nagaraj (hetaln.com) 
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