Our Team
Shabnam Sigman
Shabnam studies traditional and popular dance styles and has been performing South Asian dance with Duniya Dance & Drum Company since 2011. Most notably, as part of the company, she has performed in Half and Halves: A Dance Exploration of the Punjabi-Mexican Communities of California, and Joti Singh's Ghadar Geet: Blood and Ink.
Dancer
Sabrina Hager
Sabrina Hager is a Bay Area native, who has danced and performed various types of dance since her teens. She happily joined DDDCo in late 2009, and enjoys continuing to learn new forms of dance and movement. She is a Physical Therapist working in Home Health in the East Bay. In addition to her Physical Therapy training, she is also Pilates trained and enjoys integrating and teaching strengthening and safe body mechanics for injury prevention.
Dancer
DancerStephanie Chen
Stephanie grew up doing ballet and gymnastics, she has since branched out to many other types of dance, having performed modern, tap, break dancing, Bharathanatyam, swing, and aerial dance. She has choreographed and performed at many venues throughout the Bay Area including the de Young Museum, Zaccho Dance Theater, Danceground Keriac, and the Russian Center. Stephanie also performs circus arts on flying trapeze and aerial hoop.
Maura Whelehan
Maura moved to the Bay Area in 2009, she studied with local artists from West Africa and joined DDDC, with whom she performs and teaches students of all ages. Maura has been a Teaching Artist for The San Francisco Ballet’s Dances in Schools and Communities program (DISC) since 2013. She also teaches at the Bay Club SF where she offers West African inspired dance classes weekly.
Dancer
Jessica Pfisterer has been dancing with Duniya since 2013. She loves the breadth of styles and performance opportunities Duniya provides - from school assemblies to full-length theater productions - as well as the amazing group of humans that make up the company. Growing up, she trained in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Salsa, and Musical Theater.
DancerJessica Pfisterer
DancerRaminder Singh
Raminder was born and raised in Ohio, moved to DC for her studies, before finally finding home in the Bay Area over five years ago. She first discovered her love for Bhangra in the typical Punjabi way - through the dance floor at many Indian weddings. Through countless classes ranging from Joti’s wonderful bhangra and bollywood to Bay area hip-hop, dance became part of her identity. She is excited to be a part of the Duniya community!
Jamila Amarshi
Jamila’s introduction to dance was through ballet by way of competitive gymnastics, then she added tap and jazz to her repertoire. Jamila credits her introduction to Bollywood and Bhangra dance to Dil Se, Stanford’s Hind Film Dance team. She danced competitively with Dil Se for 3 years, earning a spot on the national stage at Best of the Best in NYC. She later competed in Ballroom. Originally from Canada and Arkansas, she’s delighted to have found a home in San Francisco with the Duniya community.
Dancer
Deepika Tamuly
Deepika has been dancing since the age 5. Growing up in India, she trained in Bharatnatyam from Nrityanjali Dance School in Pune, India and completed her Arangetram (Graduation) when she was 15. She has performed Bharatnatyam, Bollywood, Semi-Classical and Folk dances styles in different cities in India and Sri Lanka, and had the privilege to perform alongside the Bollywood Actor Meenakshi Sheshadri.
Dancer
DancerPriya Chatwani
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Priya (she/they) began her dance journey as a young Bharata Natyam student of Gurus Viji Prakash and Mythili Prakash, with whom she danced in story-driven performances at venues such as LACMA and Ford Amphitheatre. After moving to the Bay Area for college, they continued dancing with Stanford Bhangra and participated in national competitions across the state and country. During a short stint in London, Priya danced with BollyQueer and performed in the Bend it Like Bollywood BBC documentary.
Komal Kumar
Shabnam studies traditional and popular dance styles and has been performing South Asian dance with Duniya Dance & Drum Company since 2011. Most notably, as part of the company, she has performed in Half and Halves: A Dance Exploration of the Punjabi-Mexican Communities of California, and Joti Singh's Ghadar Geet: Blood and Ink.
Dancer
Renuka Garg
Renuka is a fat queer Indian-American multidisciplinary artist and community organizer born and raised in the Bay Area. She has engaged art as political storytelling through numerous programs and productions, including Novalia Collective's "this is my body" 2024 cohort, Duniya's 2025 presentation of Ghadar Geet, and most recently as a choreographer in Nava Dance's 2025 Unrehearsed Artist Residency Program.
Dancer
DancerKirti Varma
My love for Bhangra runs deep—it’s more than just a dance form, it’s how I connect to my culture, express my soul, and feel truly free. Growing up in New York as an American-born Indian, I was always drawn to movement—Bhangra, Bollywood, and styles from all the friends and cultures I grew up with. Dance became my way of exploring who I am.
Marianna Singwi-Ferrono
Shabnam studies traditional and popular dance styles and has been performing South Asian dance with Duniya Dance & Drum Company since 2011. Most notably, as part of the company, she has performed in Half and Halves: A Dance Exploration of the Punjabi-Mexican Communities of California, and Joti Singh's Ghadar Geet: Blood and Ink.
Dancer
Oakland-based multidisciplinary dancer Danielle Smith (she/her) brings a vibrant energy and a deep commitment to social engagement to her artistry. Hailing from "the 216" (Cleveland, Ohio), her diverse experiences include a 2023 BASE Residency with PUSH Dance Company, a 2022 HART Residency with Zaccho Dance Theatre, and performing alongside Afghan pop singer and women's rights activist Aryana Sayeed in 2024.
DancerDanielle Smith
DancerAimee Rose
Marc Cunanan Chappelle
Marc Cunanan Chappelle is an Oakland-based dancer, choreographer, and educator from the Sacramento, CA area. He is a company artist with PUSH Dance Company, Embodiment Project, and now proudly joins Duniya Dance and Drum Company. Rooted in hip hop and contemporary dance traditions, Marc’s work lives at the intersection of embodied liberation and cultural storytelling.
Dancer
Angel Adedokun is a bilingual vocalist, songwriter, actor, dancer, choreographer and educator. With a dance background in Bhangra, Hip Hop, Voguing, and Belly Dancing. She has been blessed to be a part of two iterations of Blood and Ink and enjoys growing in the art of storytelling through movement within the company. As an actor, her stage credits include Passing Strange (Shotgun Players) & Nollywood Dreams (SF Playhouse). As a choreographer, her credits include Hedwig & The Angry Inch & Caroline or Change (Ray of Light Theatre). For this songbird's music, go to Angeladedokun.com & @angeladedokun on instagram.
DancerAngel Adedokun
DancerTamika Harris
Tamika is a renowned dancer who has dedicated over two decades to studying traditional Central and West African dance. She trained under esteemed instructors at the Malonga Center for the Arts and performed with prominent companies like Fua Dia Congo, Ceddo, Bantaba, and Merveilles D'Afrique.
She has showcased her talents through numerous performances, lectures, and workshops across the Bay Area, and internationally in Italy and Mexico. She also choreographed for the award-winning Karibbean Vibrationz MasBand carnival contingent.
Eboni
Dancer
Lamine has been lead percussionist, musical director, and choreographer for African ballets across West Africa and the Bay Area. He was founder/director of, “Association of Young Artists and Musicians of Guinea”, AYAMG, a network and resource organization for young artists that promotes collaboration and development of traditional arts in Guinea. From 2003-2008 Lamine was contracted with Air France as a music teacher and guide.
DrummerLamine Bangoura
DrummerNii Mantse Addy
Nii Mantse is a multi-disciplinary percussionist with a primary focus on West African and Afro-cuban traditions. Before joining Duniya, Nii played with Balandugu Kan in Los Angeles and has been a touring member of a number of R&B, soul, and funk bands. With his background in audio engineering and production, Nii enjoys mentoring young artists and blending musical styles in his own compositions..
Ben Isaacs
Ben has played and continues to play with various touring international artists including: Bongo Sidibe and the Tontons, Massamba Diop, Djaily Kunda Kouyate, Tendai Muparutsa, Ibro Diabate, M'Balou Kante, Sekouba Bambino, Balla Tounkara, Karamba Diabate, Mohammed Kouyate, Pabobo Diabate, Duniya Dance and Drum Ensemble, Lokole West and Central African Dance Ensemble, Delou West-African Dance Ensemble, Panjea, Onye Onyamachi, as well as many local groups including, Macuru, Markus James and the Wassonrai, Juju Blues, the Miles Ahead Group, Ousseynou Kouyate, The Tom Finch Group, Say Bobby, Tracy Blackman, Antioquia, and the RhythmAddicts.
Drummer