Maya Nehal
Maya Nehal is the co-founder of Milaana Dance and is also currently an entrepreneur and the owner of DFW Print Solutions in Lake Worth. Prior to her print business, Maya worked for the City of Arlington’s Information Resource Center for 20 years and retired from the City of Arlington in 2006.
She has lived in Arlington for more than 30 years and is intimately involved in the North Texas Bangladeshi community. Maya is incredibly passionate about programs that help young Bangladeshis stay connected to their culture and heritage. Maya has been an active leader in the Bangladeshi community for several years. She is one of the founding members of the Bangladeshi Expatriate Society of Texas (BEST) and served as the organization’s President for four years.
Iffat Hasan
Iffat Hasan co-founded Milaana Dance in 2016 as a way to share her love of South Asian music and dance.
She is also a small business owner with a marketing, design and print business. She has more than 15 years of experience in Corporate Communications and has worked in various industries such as defense, oil and gas, healthcare, local government, and non-profits. Over the past several years, Iffat has also volunteered to support cultural programs with the Bangladeshi Expatriate Society of Texas (BEST). She is slightly obsessed with South Asian music and dance, especially from Bollywood. If a Hindi song is playing, she is definitely dancing. With Milaana Dance, Iffat hopes to create an environment for people of all ages to come together and enjoy South Asian dance and culture.
Praseeda Reddy
Praseeda Danda is an instructor and choreographer for adults and kids, and has been teaching at Milaana since 2018.
Praseeda is currently a student at the University of Texas at Dallas where is pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Business. She is a member of UTD Laksh, the Bollywood Fusion dance team and also holds a leadership position in the organizaiton.
Praseeda has been dancing since she was 3 years old and competed and performed at various places such as the Farhan Akhtar concert, Vishal and Shekhar concert, Competitions on Zee TV, National Conventions, and more. Praseeda loves dancing more than anything and also enjoys choreographing routines in her free time.
Shaksi Sharma
Shaksi Sharma is an instructor and choreographer at the Coppell studio, and teaches both the adults and kids.
Shaksi Sharma is currently a student at the Universty of Texas at Dallas and is studying Business Administration.
Shaksi started dancing at a young age, and continues participate in cultural programs and festivals. She performed at India Night, CHS Heritage Night, Asian festivals, and programs at her temple.
Shaksi enjoys working with participants at Milaana and making new and meaningful relationships along the way!
Ash Nair
Ash Nair is an instructor and choreographer for adult and kids classes, and has been teaching at Milaana since 2019.
She is currently a Senior Quality Engineer at Stryker.
Ash started learning Bharatanatyam at age 5 at Anjali School of Performing Arts under her guru, Rathna Kumar, in Houston. She also learned hip hop and contemporary. While in high school, Ash worked part time, choreographing and teaching young kids and adults for various community events.
Ash graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. At Texas A&M, she joined Akh Mastani, a Bollywood fusion dance team, and was captain her sophomore year. This gave her tremendous experience in choreography, formations, routines, and competitions.
Arisha Hasan
Arisha Hasan started as a student at Milaana Dance in 2016, and started as an instructor and choreographer in 2021.
She is currently a student at Coppell High School. Arisha has been dancing since the age of 4, and has taken lessons in ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, and of course Bollywood.
She has participated in numerous performances with Milaana Dance and other organizations. She is also Milaana’s video editor – combinging her love of dance and media production to create unique Bollywood dance covers.
Aarushi Anand
Aarushi Anand is an instructor and choreographer for the kids classes at the Coppell Studio.
She is currently a junior at Coppell High School and is involved in various activities, including the Varsity Swim Team, National Honor Society, and the American Red Cross.
Ever since a young age, Aarushi has had an igniting passion for dance. As a former student of Milaana, she continues to participate in various dance programs around her community. She has also founded the Spirit of Dance Club at her school in order to unite the diverse range of cultures in the community through the medium of dance. This gave her ample experience in leading and choreographing a team.
Aarushi is now excited to continue her journey with dance at Milaana!
Bhavya Vasireddy
Bhavya is a choreographer and instructor for kids and adults at the Milaana Dance Plano studio.
She is currently a junior, marketing at UTD. She is a professional fashion portrait photographer and has been practicing photography since she was 11.
Bhavya has been dancing since she was a child, performing for family, as well as performances with volunteering organization inluding VT Seva. She was also a student at Milaana Dance when she was a junior in high school. She has always been passionate about creative work and enjoys choreographing for her kids classes!