About us

Ishami Dance Company is a South Asian Contemporary dance company whose mission is to explore, unite and amplify the diverse voices, stories and histories of the South Asian diaspora and dismantle social and cultural constructs. Through their work they combine movement, music and aesthetics of Western forms like modern, contemporary and jazz with South Asian dance forms like Bharatnaytam, Kathak, Garba and Chhau. They create works to spark conversations through art.

Performances include an evening length original production titled “Pehchaan” as well as several repertory works. Through their performances, dance workshops and intensives, and their blog “Intermission” they invite their audiences to engage with their work and vision and celebrate the intersectionality of their identities.

Ishami was founded by Amit Patel & Ishika Seth in the unceded lands of the Ohlone-Muwekma tribes (Fremont, CA) and consists of several dance artists with unique and varied dance backgrounds and experiences.

Mission Statement

Ishami’s mission is to explore, unite, and amplify the diverse voices, stories, and histories of the South Asian Diaspora, dismantle social and cultural constructs, through the performing arts. 

To create work using the idiom of South Asian Contemporary dance, treading the line between traditional and modern.  We aspire to show the beauty and immense range of South Asian Contemporary movement with our audiences locally and across the globe.

We value inclusivity, innovation, risk-taking and cultural exchange, to create work that is ethereal yet thought-provoking, in a safe space, where artists can tap into their full potential and outgrow their limits. Cultivating individuality, clarity of intention and crossing global boundaries to share stories and spark conversation.

Amit Patel & Ishika Seth have been creating work and performing together for over a decade. Ishami stems from their vision to center the South Asian diasporic experience through contemporary dance art. Highlights of there work include receiving the Audience's Choice Award for “Broken Memories'' at SJDanceCo.’s ChoreoProject Awards in 2016 at San Jose State University, receiving the first place for their self-shot digital dance project “Fragments'' for Nrittam 2020, hosted by Urshilla Dance Company in India, being the first South Asian group on the Pride Mainstage as part of Parivar Bay Area,  and creating an evening length show titled “Unearthed-Untold Stories of the Ramayana,” at the ODC theater in 2022. Ishami is an evolution of their work and a structure to support it in this next phase.
 They are inspired to create a space where dancers can develop their own individuality, are encouraged to take risks and to challenge their limits.

Meet the Founders

Ishika Seth (she/her)

Ishika Seth (she/her) is a South Asian choreographer, dancer, dance educator and writer. An immigrant, storyteller & parent based in the unceded lands of the Ohlone people (Bay Area).

Since 2007, Ishika has presented her work at various venues in & around the Bay Area and also self-produced shows at NOHSpace & CounterPULSE in collaboration with other artists.

She has been a choreographer for theatrical productions produced by San Jose Lyric Opera, Aurora Theater in Berkeley, SFSU, Stanford Savoyards, Chthonic Theater in Oakland and Artistes Unlimited in India.

She studied Indian Contemporary Dance & jazz in India and had the opportunity to be a part of Santosh Nair’s company Sadhya. Additional training includes Mayurbhanj Chhau with Guru J. J. Sai Babu and yoga with her grandmother during her childhood years.

Ishika came to the U.S. in 2003 to pursue her B.A. in Dance from SJSU studying modern, jazz, ballet and choreography. In her works, she strives to blend elements of her cultural background with her eclectic training, examine and dismantle social constructs, and to find the intersection between art & activism.

She was the Assistant Artistic Director of the Mona Khan Company from 2011-2021, choreographing various shows, festivals and events, being a featured dancer and helping guide the artistic vision. She is currently a dancer and the company manager for Noorani Dance Company, led by the Kathak artist Farah Yasmeen Shaikh.

Amit Patel (he/him)

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Amit Patel, a native of Fremont, CA, is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and creative director living in the San Francisco Bay Area (unceded lands of the Ohlone people).

As a first-generation born Indian-American, he strives to fuse his cultures, combining his Indian culture and Western training to explore a style of dance called "Indian Contemporary." He is also notable for his rebellious pieces in heels, known as "Bollywood Heels," which challenge the norms of sexual identity and gender expression in dance.

He has taught and performed internationally, for the Nordic largest Indian Dance Festival in Tampere, Finland; as well as in England, Spain, France, Greece, Canada and India; teaching and performing both Bollywood Heels and Indian Contemporary.

His dance training consists of jazz, ballet, Bollywood/Indian Fusion, and extensive training in contemporary and modern dance.

His professional stage experience includes 10+ years as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher at the Mona Khan Company, a Bollywood fusion company, 6+ years with Bliss Dance Company, a modern dance company, and a performance season with Pietre Dance Theater in Los Angeles.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, his work in creating his brand of Bollywood Heels is rooted in explosing communities to different types of queerness and deconstructing gender roles and identity in the arts. He also works as an Arts Administrator with the trans-led South Asian organization – Parivar. He is dedicated to creating safe spaces for dancers and bringing forth marginalized stories through his work.

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Meet the Artists