Our Approach

At the Leela Institute for the Arts, we work to elevate and advance India’s rich artistic and cultural heritage in the United States, India and beyond. Our integrated approach aims to have a field-wide impact and includes three main components:

1. Our national and internationally performing dance company, the Leela Dance Collective, establishes Indian classical dance and music on the world stage by supporting the creation and performance of cutting edge works of kathak dance.

2. Our educational institute, the Leela Academy along with its affiliate schools around the world, provides world-class education and pre-professional training in Kathak dance and Hindustani classical music to dedicated and talented children and youth, and

3. The Leela Endowment provides the financial infrastructure that is critical for the viability and sustainability of artistic traditions such as kathak dance and hindustani classical music.

At the heart of Leela’s work are a set of values and guiding principles that inform the organization’s programmatic strategies as well as operating practices:

Core Values

Have a transformative impact on the field

Elevate the standard of the art

Place artists at the center

Facilitate collective creativity

Foster artistic & administrative excellence

while remaining grounded in tradition

The Leela Institute’s approach ultimately aims to secure a vibrant future for India’s artistic traditions and ensure a rich cultural milieu for students, audiences and communities around the world.

The Leela Institute is a non-denominational and non-political based organization. Our mission is rooted in the universality of dance, music, and art above all else. As such our association with any third-party organization is in the spirit of community and is not an endorsement for the views held by those organizations.