DEVIKA RAO is a British Citizen of Indian origin. By profession a classical Indian Dance, Theatre Artist, Choreographer, producer & Director and has been working in this sector since last 10 year in the UK, she has performed more than 1200 times in the last 2 decades. She has received Art Council grants for her work. She was the lead performer as part of the cultural Olympic 2012 project (MANDALA) and also performed for Queen's Baton Relay 2009 (INITIUM).
EDITH HUMBLE is a talented and passionate Odissi Dancer from Sweden and is part of YAA DEVI Sweden initiative. She has the base of Classical Ballet and is also trained in Mayurbhanj Chhau.
MANUELA BENINI from Brazil is a performer and facilitator that works with the vocabularies of Kathak dance, Afro-brazilian dance styles and Butoh. She performs regularly as a solo kathak dancer and choreographs. She has learnt kathak dance in Leeds with Sushma Mehta and in India with Kumudini Lakhia. Manuela have a life long dance and photography project entailed "the Red Dress" where she performs in a variety of landscapes across the world.
KULESHWAR KUMAR THAKUR is a professional dancer specializing in Mayurbhanj Chhau, Contemporary Dance and Acrobatic Yoga, and he has trained in field of Mayurnhanj Chhau under Guru Janme SaiBabu & Guru Santosh Nair. Has performend on an international platform in countries like Brazil, Port of Spain, Norway, Srilanka, Macau, Canada and many more. Also is a choreographer and conducts various workshops.
ULRIKA LARSEN is one of the leading odissi dance exponents in Sweden with rigorous training in East Indian classical dance- Odissi, in India as an ICCR scholar. She has been learning odissi from Gurus such as Ramani Ranjan Jena, Aruna Mohanty and at Nrityagram. She is a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher and producer. Ulrika is artistic diretor of Odissi Dansproduktion and the platform Movement in exile and is presently completing a master degree in directing and dramaturgy for movements based arts in Stockholm.
SUNNY SISODIA is a versatile dancer with more than 10 years experience. He is a trained Mayurbhanj Chhau dancer. Is also gymnast & does acrobatic yoga. He has been working with Kalamanch dance company and many other dance company.
NIKHIL LAL comes from a family of artists who are practitioners of the "jaipur gharana" of kathak dance style. He has been training in mayurbhanj chhau under "shri guru janmo joy sai babu". Contemporary dance training under "Shri. guru santosh nair" for the last five years. He has been an integral part of sadhya's production namely - The game of dice, We can make the difference based on global warming & earth care . "Chaitanya" and performed both at national and international level.
YAA DEVI UK 2026 is a collaborative dance theatre project by Devika Dance Theatre, bringing together artists from diverse cultural and performance backgrounds.
Rooted in Indian traditional dance forms including Yakshagana, Bharatanatyam, and Kuchipudi, the project combines dance theatre, movement, site-specific performance, and interdisciplinary practice to create contemporary artistic experiences for today's audiences.
YAA DEVI continues to evolve through performances, workshops, artistic exchange, and creative collaborations, supporting emerging artists while developing future large-scale productions across the UK.
ROSA LIECKENS is a versatile dancer with a background in ballet and contemporary dance, currently specialising in Bharatanatyam. She is part of the YAA DEVI UK team, where her practice brings together Indian classical dance, movement, and dance theatre. Rosa has performed professionally across the UK and internationally, including in Taipei, Nuremberg, Abu Dhabi, and London.
DEVIKA RAO DANCE THEATRE LIMITED Company number 13603989
To find out more please call Devika Rao on
079 8889 5668 and start your journey today.
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Company number 13603989
