Kalpana Subbarao is an artist with over 20 years of experience in Indian classical dance forms, Kathak and Bharatanatyam. As a 2018-2019 Artist in Residence for Dance Source Houston, she produced a collaborative show on Kathak-Flamenco with 7 other artists from Houston. In 2017, she was a solo artist at the Barnstorm Dance Festival. She is also a certified Teaching Artist from the Arts for Learning Lab conducted by Young Audiences of Houston in partnership with the University of Houston. She has studied Bharatanatyam in a traditional setting in India. She was the recipient of a 3-year scholarship from the Sangeet Nritya Academy and a 1st rank holder of the Senior and Vidwat (Proficiency) exams. Currently, she practices
Kathak. She is the disciple of Pt. Sontosh Maharaj for the past 7 years. She has performed in the US, India, and Malaysia.
She has conceptualized, created, choreographed, and directed the evening-length production of Kathak-Flamenco, A Celebration of Cultures. As a choreographer, she showcased her work, Beloved, at the Mind The Gap show in 2017. She was the lead co-choreographer for Kathak in Silambam Houston Dance Company’s production, Kāvya: Poetry in Motion staged at both Miller Outdoor Theater (2018) and MATCH (2017) in Houston. Kalpana teaches Kathak for Silambam Houston at their Pearland and Houston Heights locations. She has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Houston and has previously worked as a software engineer.