Kiran James

🪔 About

Kiran James is a Chicago-based Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, educator, and nonprofit leader, recognized for his innovative approach to Indian classical dance. He holds an M.A. in Bharatanatyam from the University of Madras (2010) and an M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University (2015), building on a B.A. in Behavioral Neuroscience & Spanish from Boston University (2008). James has over 15 years of experience in nonprofit management, arts education, and community engagement. He is the founder and CEO of Kiran James Productions, established in 2025, which focuses on dance-based work rooted in South Asian traditions, spanning performance, education, and community engagement. He also co-founded Daya Arts in 2017, a nonprofit dedicated to bridging diasporic communities through cross-cultural artistic productions rooted in West African and South Asian visual and performing arts. From 2024 to 2025, James served as the Executive Director of Kalapriya, a nonprofit South Asian arts organization, where he revitalized its arts education program and significantly increased grant funding and community engagement. His extensive teaching career, which began in 2009, includes positions as Adjunct Dance Faculty at Marymount Manhattan College (2020-2021) and teaching artist residencies at institutions such as Columbia College, Bard College, SIUE, YoungArts, and Nritya Creations. He has developed K-12 curricula integrating Indian classical dance with various academic subjects and specializes in workshops and lectures that combine Indian classical dance, neuroscience, choreography, and aesthetics. James is an award-winning Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer, known for creating bold, cross-cultural productions that blend South Asian classical and ritual dance with other world dance forms, with performances rooted in poetic storytelling and social justice.