Dancepreneurs of Delhi-NCR: From an artist to business owner, one beat at a time
Dancers recall finding a business opportunity in their passion.
Kamna Arora and Utsav Malhotra at their studio. Serendipity or a well-choreographed career move? At 24, Kamna Arora was doing well in her career after finishing her graduation from the University of Nottingham in the UK. Yet one evening, the Delhi resident packed her bags for Mumbai and enrolled in choreographer Shiamak Davar’s one-year professional programme. Until then, dance was only a hobby for her.
“I realised dance was my calling. The traditional advice is to train during childhood; but for me, it had been a hobby in my early years,” says Kamna.
Her parents supported her decision and she ended up training as a professional for three years. But turning dance into a career — and eventually a business — required more than their approval.
Kamna’s dream was to create a space to inspire others to dance. In 2017, she swayed a step closer to her vision. She co-founded South Delhi-based Yellow Stripes Dance Company (YSDC) with Utsav Malhotra, a fellow dancer she had met at Shiamak Davar’s company. “Utsav had trained much longer at Shiamak, then with the Royal Academy of Dance in Sri Lanka and the Urban Dance Camp in Germany… He had got exposure in genres such as ballet, and hip hop,” she recounts. “I was more of an entrepreneur; Utsav lent his artistic soul.”
The early challenge was setting up a dance studio. “There were only big names like Shiamak and Ashley Lobo then,” Kamna says.
She identified a market gap that gave the duo a first-mover advantage, especially in Delhi-NCR — wedding choreography. “People were often under the impression that weddings could be choreographed without professional help. We entered the market to make a mark.”
Nearly a decade later, YSDC has a 20-member team, a studio in Saket and a wedding choreography business with clients in India and abroad and over 2,33,000 Instagram followers. Last month, Kamna and Utsav — who got married in 2022 — added a cafe, Nukohi, to the studio premises. As a team, the couple has worked as choreographers in Radhika Merchant-Anant Ambani and Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani weddings. Their studio hosts workshops for artists travelling from across the country.
Kamna says constant scaling, monthly plans and innovation help cover costs like studio and warehouse rentals. “The wedding business is more profitable, but we hold in-house classes too.”
The corporate convert
Nidhi Bhatia (36) has had a hectic last few weeks. Her studio, Creative Detox, in Greater Kailash 1, celebrated its first anniversary in June, and the team and students are now preparing for its first stage show, CD Productions, on September 12.
Bhatia had trained young but “dance found its way back to her” when her husband took her to a workshop three years ago. She quit her corporate job in product management and marketing and used her savings to set up Creative Detox, which hosts dance classes alongside art and crafts workshops.
“My 10-year-long corporate stint gave me invaluable experience in strategy and building products. I wanted to combine that with my passion for dance and community building. Creative Detox began with a simple thought — that in our busy lives, we all deserve a space to pause, create and reconnect,” she says, and adds, “Dance is the language I speak the best, but creativity is the bigger conversation.”
Dance caught them young
Mansi Garg (22) from Gurgaon had a humbler start as a solopreneur. Fresh out of college, she started teaching last year at a dance institute to fund a dream that she had nurtured since she was a teenager — opening a studio.
Gradually, she founded Gurgaon-based Soul Dance Studio last May. “It was because of my mother’s love for dance that I got enrolled in Kathak classes at the age of four.” But convincing other members of her family that dance can actually be a profession was not easy. “My father and brother are chartered accountants… it was, at some level, difficult to convince the family that this could be my professional calling,” she adds.
At Delhi University’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, where she pursued B.Com Hons, she was the president of the college’s Spardha dance society and remembers training — across dance styles — for 10-12 hours at a stretch on days.Even today, she ensures she focuses on her training despite packed routine.
She still continues to teach at the institute. “I still manage the job at the institute and the studio… But since the studio is stable now, I am planning to focus fully on this venture,” she says.
Not far away is Qala House of Creators, set up two years ago. Co-founder Ishita Bhatnagar (25) began dancing when she was three. The more I trained and taught, the more I realised dance wasn’t something I wanted to do on the side — it was what I wanted to build my life around. Dance gave me a purpose, and entrepreneurship gave me the opportunity to create a home for that purpose,” she says. A cafe, Qalavio, was added to the studio earlier this year.
Mansi Garg is a trained Kathak dancer.
Sustaining the vision
Even as expanding outreach — whether getting artists to conduct workshops and share profits, or increasing student participation — is the name of the game, all the founders rather view it as an exercise to grow a community. “Artists are incredibly welcoming if you approach them with genuine intent. Networking has never been about collecting contacts — it’s about building genuine relationships,” says Nidhi.
Social media, AI tools and design software like Canva have become essential for student enrolment and engagement. Mansi manages this herself; Kamna relies on structure — separate teams for the studio, the wedding company and the cafe. “But all these leads are inducted from our inhouse team. That’s our strength. Our selection of people has never been just on the basis of knowledge but the willingness to learn,” she says. “As the old adage goes — If you want to go far, you go with people. If you want to go fast, you go alone… I don’t believe in going fast. People who were beginners years ago now manage multiple departments here.”
Ishita agrees: “Building a strong team is as important as building a strong vision. Moreover, technology has become a big part of how we work — social media for community-building, AI for streamlining tasks. It doesn’t replace creativity, but it gives us more time to focus on what matters. Profitability is important, but a sustainable business is even more valuable.”
Nidhi Bhatia founded Creative Detox in Greater Kailash.
Balancing act
For these dancepreneurs, the journey has been about more than moves that give spectators goosebumps. “People think anyone can become a dancer, but that’s not true — this is like any other challenging career,” says Kamna, recalling how she and Utsav had to earn trust as teachers, as wedding choreographers, and with each other. “Initially, we used our savings, borrowed some money from family, and returned it when we could.”
As a couple, they’ve also had to make room for disagreement. “Having a challenging partner is an asset. We are like-minded yet have minds of our own. Sometimes, one of us comes up with an idea, and the other may execute. We give each other space, have a difference of opinion, but bounce back immediately.”
Balancing creativity with entrepreneurial aspirations is another recurring challenge. “As our business expanded, Utsav and I became more occupied with backend work — documentation, accounting, managing a team. The artistic side sometimes takes a backseat… but still we find time to teach and mentor team members,” Kamna says. “On some days you want to dance but you’re at the desk; on others you’re at the desk and have to get up and dance.”
While Mansi agrees that less practice makes her a “dull artist”, Ishita says: “As an artist, all you want to do is create. As an entrepreneur, you also have to think about operations, planning and marketing. But I always make time to teach and create, because that’s what keeps me inspired.” Bhatia prefers to think in terms of boundaries: “I consciously set aside specific hours for dance and try to be completely present during those hours. Even today, when I attend a class, I prefer to be treated like any other student.”
Ishita Bhatnagar founded Qala House of Creators in Gurgaon.
Motivation behind it all
When students tell Mansi that her studio has become like “a second home” where they forget their stress, she feels “closer to her purpose”. “There are days I wonder why I’ve taken on so much pressure at 22, but comments like these tell me I’m doing something right.”
Ishita’s biggest lesson has been that consistency beats perfection: “Showing up every day, learning from mistakes and staying authentic takes you further than chasing perfection ever will.”
For the YSDC founders, every project has to leave a good memory. “At weddings, we treat our clients as family. Our annual show, Sync’d, keeps us going,” says Kamna. Her biggest lesson: “You can’t say yes to everything. Projects have to align with your values. Demand the respect you seek, even in what you charge. As a founder, you have to show up every day — I want to be the glue that keeps people together.”
Nidhi adds, “Seeing people build friendships and find a sense of belonging through dance is incredibly rewarding. Even if two people have never met before, they’re sharing an experience, moving
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