Richa Chandra

Founder of Indian Rhythms

Richa is a Norwegian dancer and choreographerer,  with a vast backgrounds in styles that include classical Indian dance and Bollywood. In addition, Richa also has deep understand and education in economics, and have built up several “empires” in dance education in Norway.

I met Richa Chandra first time when she was hired as an executive and simultaneously creative artist in my time as Director of Akershus Theater. This was within an operating division of Akershus Theater named P: UNKT. A production by co-creative practitioners, and people who had no theatre education. Richa was the one with the most stage experience, and her contribution was of great importance both for the show she starred in, and for the theater and P: UNKT. I have since had the pleasure of sitting in a board in a non-profit organization, she and her mother started. Damini, as it is called, had dance education as social mission. She has recently established a new organization with the same mission, and business expands almost automatically, which I take as a sign of the public’s interest and quality of supply. Richa is both an educator and manager. Overall, Richa possesses thus properties, that only a limited number of artists, namely the ability to be both creative and chief artist. By that I mean that her total knowledge of dance performing arts, technical and professional, making her able to fill many functions from the producer to the creative / performing artist.

Richas skills as a choreographer is not just brilliant from a dance professional standpoint. She shows particularly good abilities to merge their work into a broader context which is not at least include wise dance dramaturgy. Her performances tell stories, we need to experience. This she can because she listens, and because she is very good to see the possibilities and potential of their employees, thereby motivating them to go further. 

Richa is very socially engaged, and she is good at creating understanding and communication between different disciplines and groups of people.