About Us

Jaya Karan is Director & Co-founder of Sapphire Dance, and is a creative force behind the group’s success. Jaya is also Director of Studio J, Melbourne’s school for Indian dance!

Experienced in numerous dance styles and trained in Bharatnatyam, co-founder Piyali Somaia effortlessly blends modern and classical Indian dance styles in both her choreography and performance.

Gerard is Artistic Director for Sapphire Dance. A gifted dancer and choreographer, he wins new fans wherever he performs. He is also Creative Director and founder of PROVOKATIV Dance Company.

Joshinder has been dancing, choreographing and teaching since 2002. Joshinder has toured and performed internationally in Germany, Malaysia, Dubai, Pakistan and India.

Kanika has been training in Bharatnatyam classical dance since the age of five and has performed in numerous productions in Melbourne and overseas.

Erica has trained extensively in dance in many genres and has performed in Bollywood stage shows, film clips and movies in Mumbai, Delhi and Goa.

Zoe has been devoted to dance from a very young age. She has danced, choreographed and taught in numerous professional settings. She is currently training with some of Australia’s top urban dance crews, whilst also completing a Bachelor of Education.

Sham is a multi-talented performer and has been involved in numerous acting, music and dance projects. From an early age, Sham started ballet, followed by jazz, tap, hip hop and contemporary dance training.

Ida is a trained Kathak dancer of the Jaipur gharana. She also has over 15 years experience in multiple dance forms including Bollywood, contemporary and Indian folk.

Ranvir took up Bharatanatyam during her childhood years. After taking a break to pursue a career in law, Ranvir has thrown herself back into dancing and resumed her Bharatanatyam training, whilst also performing with Sapphire Dance.

Tiana has been dancing for the past 12 years and is trained in Jazz, HipHop and Contemporary. Tiana is also part of urban dance crew ‘Provokativ’. She is crazy about everything Bollywood!