Vina Ladwa is the artistic director of the Manushi Dance Company. She is trained in Kathak dance, one of the 7 classical forms of Asian dance and has developed her skills and expertise as a performer, choreographer, tutor and workshop leader. Vina has over 25 years experience working with Secondary, Primary, Main Stream and Special Needs Schools in the UK.

Manushi Dance workshops consists of Indian Dance, storytelling with dance movements, Bollywood, north Indian folk dance Dandiya Raas (Stick Dance). Vina specialises in Henna painting and Rangoli pattern workshops. Workshops can be themed and are sufficiently flexible to incorporate school preferences or to align with other curricular activities. She also provides a comprehensive teacher training programme of Inset days to equip staff with the skills to expand on the workshop experience.

Workshops can be participatory or lecture based. Each session begins with demonstration explaining the techniques and meanings of various hand/eye gesture, neck movements, body shapes accompanied by an explanation of the story behind the dance. 

Workshop options can be participatory or lecture based and consist of:

■ An introduction to South Asian Dance, including the various styles that make up Classical South Asian Dance and techniques.

■ A demonstration and explanation of the techniques and meanings of various hand and foot movements.

■ A lecture demonstration (showing hand and foot movements accompanied by an explanation of the story behind the dance).

■ Teacher training (inset days).

■ Henna painting.

■ Asian stories and Diwali story with dance.

■ Dandiya Raas (North Indian folk style: stick dance)
 

The workshops are lively and captivating to all age groups as Vina aims to Introduce her cultural background in a fun and educational way through engaging stories and dance.

Vina is CRB checked and has full Public Liability Insurance cover.