About Tarantismo Creative Dance Company
Tarantismo is a 18 year old fusion dance company , comprising a dynamic group of dancers trained in styles like Belly dance, Bollywood, Indian Classical and many others fueling their passion to create fusion dance choreographies. We pride ourselves on being one of India's most recognised dance companies!
STORY BEHIND THE NAME
‘Tarantismo’ literally, is the medical term for the ‘unconditional desire to dance!’ The story goes that in the 15th century, in a small town called Taranto, people were bitten by a venomous spider which caused them to break into frenzied dancing and the term ‘tarantismo’ was coined as a result.
We dance euphorically, expressively and fearlessly. We definitely have a severe case of Tarantismo.
THE TEAM
Anusha Hegde & Deepthi Shetty lead Tarantismo as the directors and senior choreographers. They have been dancing professionally for more than 2 decades and are both Internationally acclaimed teachers and performers. The team comprises of highly trained dancers! An all women core team with dance being their primary role, stand as the principal support system handling various departments of the company.
OUR JOURNEY
Founded by Arati Punwani in 2006 and later joined by Deepthi & Anusha in 2007, Tarantismo is the pioneer of belly dance in south India. Tarantismo has participated and represented our country at various festivals and events such as the Asia Global Belly Dance Festival in Singapore, Artists in Action in Mumbai, Pro Danza in Italy,A Magi Temple in Florida, Salamat Masr in Cairo, Egypt and many others. The company has performed on famous television reality shows such Dance India Dance, India's Got Talent, Dance Dance, and Dance Plus.
OUR VISION
Tarantismo is extremely passionate about Dance & wishes to Spread the joy of Movement to immeasurable precincts by creating opportunities for emerging dancers to take up DANCE - A performing art as a lucrative career option. And continue to represent India on a global scale.
SERVICES
We conduct online & offline dance classes for Belly Dancing across Bangalore and Delhi.We provide customized private classes & workshops. The team is well equipped & highly proficient to deliver specialized performance sequences at various corporate events, wedding functions & thematic social get togethers across the country.
Tarantismo Weddings is another vertical of Tarantismo where the team shows extreme excellence, for well curated and customised solutions for your wedding dance requirements, with both online and offline sessions, along with recorded tutorials for our global clients.
THE PILLARS OF TARANTISMO
Deepthi Shetty
Arati Punwani Sunawala
Deepthi Shetty
CO-DIRCETOR & PARTNER
Anusha Hegde
Arati Punwani Sunawala
Deepthi Shetty
CO-DIRCETOR & PARTNER
Arati Punwani Sunawala
Arati Punwani Sunawala
Arati Punwani Sunawala
FOUNDER
THE TEAM
Anusha Hegde
Deepthi Shetty
Deepthi Shetty
CO-DIRECTOR & PARTNER / SENIOR CHOREOGRAPHER & PERFORMER / VISUAL CONTENT CREATOR & EDITOR / FINANCIAL DIRECTOR
The embodiment of grace, with an insatiable passion for dance. Anusha started dancing professionally at the age of 6. She is an engineer/entrepreneur by profession parallelly pursuing her passion for dance all along. She adores teaching, choreographing and directing. Anusha has conducted several dance workshops across the country and abroad. Trained in various dance styles like Belly Dance, Bharathnatyam, Kathak, Contemporary, Afro , Hip Hop Etc., she has over 10 million views on her videos in YouTube and has been a Quarter Finalist in India's Got Talent. She is an ardent traveler, passionate about interacting with people from across the globe, experiencing various cultures and spreading the joy of dance! She is the first certified Datura Style teacher in India, trained under Rachel Brice in Portland, USA and also the first certified Dance Craft Teacher, trained under Zoe Jakes in California, USA.
Deepthi Shetty
Deepthi Shetty
Deepthi Shetty
CO-DIRECTOR & PARTNER/ SENIOR CHOREOGRAPHER & PERFORMER / VISUAL CONTENT COORDINATOR
A vision of beauty in every twist and turn, Deepthi has been dancing for over 2 decades. She has been responsible for developing the company's repertory in Indian Belly Dance Fusion. She was the quarter finalist in India's Got Talent and also participated in Dance Plus. Deepthi is trained in various styles from Belly dance to Baratnatyam to Contemporary. She has conducted Belly Dance workshops in various international dance festivals like IIDC, Danza Pura and Salamat Masr in Egypt. Deepthi's love for Belly Dancing is unparalled. She believes in telling a story through each of the pieces she creates. Her passion and dedication towards this art form has won her many accolades. It is her dream to spread the love for Belly Dancing across our country and abroad.
Devesh
Deepthi Shetty
Gauri Kokatay
CREATIVE CONSULTANT - GRAPHIC / UI DESIGNER
In the domain where pixels pulse with creativity and ideas bloom, meet Devesh, our Creative Consultant and Graphic/UI Designer whose canvas extends beyond aesthetics into storytelling. With an artful mastery of interaction design, visual storytelling, and brand innovation, Devesh crafts immersive experiences from publication design to campaign branding. His work harmonizes web design with the essence of brand identity, a symphony of creativity and technical finesse. Explore his world, where every pixel whispers tales of innovation and design alchemy.
Gauri Kokatay
Shruthi Damodhar
Gauri Kokatay
SENIOR INSTRUCTOR & PERFORMER
Fascinated by Gymnastics, Ballet, Synchronised swimming & acrobatics as a child, Gauri is an Architect by profession but a Dancer / movement artist by Passion. She started dance training with renowned dance company Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studio-bangalore, mainly Latin styles like Salsa, Bachata, Jive, Merengue etc and moved from being student to pro-team member to instructor! Inspired by the Dance productions directed by Arati Sunavala & Intrigued by Contemporary movement with the creative use of dance as a tool for expression, Gauri auditioned for Tarantismo in 2013 and never looked back. She discovered new found love for Belly Dancing while journeying with Tarantismo and the exploration continues. Gauri has mentored the students from foundation to intermediate level in Belly Dance.
Jinu Scaria
Shruthi Damodhar
Shruthi Damodhar
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
She finds deep inspiration in the art of belly dance, recognizing its transformative power in her life's journey towards the joy of dancing. Jinu, who was previously a student of Tarantismo, joined the team in 2018 and continued training and performing for Tarantismo. With nearly 100k followers on Instagram herself, Jinu brings her expertise to Tarantismo as a digital content manager, enhancing our online presence and engagement strategies. Despite recently relocating to Maryland, USA, Jinu remains dedicated to her passion for dance and continues to actively contribute to the team at Tarantismo. Her commitment transcends geographic boundaries as she brings her talent and expertise to the forefront, enriching our endeavours. Easy-going and fun-loving, she radiates warmth and is ever-ready to lend a helping hand.
Shruthi Damodhar
Shruthi Damodhar
Shruthi Damodhar
SENIOR INSTRUCTOR & PERFORMER /
HEAD OF TARANTISMO WEDDINGS
A Belly dance entusiast, trained with one of the most prestigious schools in the south in the classical Egyptian style. Shruthi has performed at a number of reputed dance festivals in the country such as the IIDC, Hipnosis, Raqs Sharki and at the Foundation level Course with Hossam & Serena Ramzy in Italy which revolved around learning the technicalities involved in playing the douff alongside intensive training. She has also attended the workshops and personally trained under the beautiful whos-who of belly dancing including, Sanaz Bhaktiar, Meher Malik, Colleena Shakti, Deepthi Shetty, Anusha Hegde, Daniela Kudlickova, Payal Gupta, Janka Redhekhova, Najma Asani, Aziza, Sadie, Kremushka, Daliya and other.. She aims to spread her love for belly dancing & change the way the art form is perceived.