At present, she practices her Bharatanatyam dance technique under Smt. Savithri Jaganath Rao and the abinaya and nattuvangam techniques under Smt. NithyaKalyani Vaidyanathan from Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. She practices her Kathak under Sandhya Desai in “Kadamb” Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Neha’s interest in arts is not limited to dance. She has participated in several street plays and delivered many educational documentaries that helped educate the rural tribal population in the interior regions of Gujurat, India. Many of these programs, Folk dances & dance dramas(Darpana) were broadcast on local & National television in India.
Her 30 years of choreographing and teaching experience has given her numerous opportunities to work with profit and nonprofit organizations including, but not limited to, schools, universities, and International museums. She has showcased Indian dance forms at religious conferences and various dance festivals worldwide.
Neha considers herself fortunate that she has been able to positively impact the lives of her students with physical and mental challenges by imparting her Bharatnatyam knowledge to them. It has been brought to her attention by medical professionals of the aforementioned students that Bharatnatyam has had a profound impact on their lives.
At present, as founder and Artistic Director of Naad Studios, she choreographs and teaches Indian dance styles which include Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Indian folk dances. She prepares Bharatanatyam and Kathak students to take exams for their diplomas in dance. Under Neha Patel’s guidance students of Naad Studios are able to represent their dance study as one of the major physical education subjects and are able to get credits for their academic career of High School and Universities. Also, her past and present students have been able to finish their graduation in classical Indian dance styles under her guidance.
At present, She is also an active serving member of the management committee of IFAASD(Indian Fine Arts Academy, San Diego), active board member of FIA(Federation of India Association, San Diego) as cultural director & House of India, Balboa Park of San Diego representing India. In the past, she has served as an executive committee member of Gujarati Association, San Diego, Shri Mandir of San Diego, Cultural Secretary of Gujarati association of Chicago, IL to organize community cultural/fundraising events. Also, she was part of judge panel of international FOGANA dance competition, USA.
