Choreographer, Achinta S. McDaniel excels in bringing a multitude of contemporary Indian dance styles to film, television, commercials and music. Her choreography credits include such TV shows as The New Girl and Speechless with Minnie Driver, multiple commercials including Madden NFL, Heineken for Director Todd Haynes and Snapple. She has worked with music artists Timbaland, A.R. Rahman, Sunny Leone, and Anupam Kher. She also designs Bollywood and Bhangra live stage productions for Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

Achinta is a pioneer of contemporary Indian dance in the United States, and the industry’s top Bollywood instructor. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the country’s first contemporary Indian dance ensemble, Blue13 Dance Company, which tours internationally. A first generation born South Asian American dance maker renowned for her passion to create dance works that challenge “Americanness,” McDaniel’s aesthetic is fueled by the rhythms and drama of classical and contemporary Indian art, and rooted in disciplines of contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap dance. She is a New York University graduate, and studied classical Indian Kathak under guru Maya Rao in Bangalore, India. McDaniel’s work is a reflection of her upbringing, eastern and western, rebellious, and unconventional, traversing hierarchical and dividing lines of commercial dance, concert dance, and pedagogy.