Meet Team Thumak
Varalika Srivastava
Founder and Bollywood Instructor
Born and raised in India, Varalika is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and has been dancing since the age of ten. She is now also training in Kathak. Over the years, she has taken various dance workshops to dip her feet in other dance forms like Jazz, Hip Hop and Belly Dance.
Dancing is her way of self expression. She loves to perform but what makes her the happiest is teaching and seeing her students perform on stage. Apart from dancing, she loves to travel and has a special love for cafes, bakeries and book stores. She can also spend hours watching movies with her husband and dog.
Christine Willett
Co-Founder, BollyX Fitness and BollyZumba Instructor
Christine has immense love for both dance and fitness and shares it through teaching. With Thumak Dance, she wants to get both together and make dance fitness a fun experience for her students. She is a certified BollyX Fitness instructor and loves to share her passion for fitness with her students. She also has a strong enthusiasm for dance and continues to learn new styles including Bollywood, Semi Classical Indian, Contemporary, Belly Dance, Ballroom and Dance Hall. Over the years,
Christine has performed at venues including the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage, the National Theater and abroad. When she's not dancing, she loves getting brunch and binge watching on Netflix with her husband and cat.
Anjana Kumari
Virtual Kathak trainer from India
Anjana started her training at a very tender age and has a Post Diploma from Kathak Kendra (The National Institute of Kathak Dance), New Delhi under Pt Rajendra Gangani. She also holds Kathak Praveen from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad. She has performed extensively in India and abroad in places like Singapore, Pakistan, Indonesia and Australia, Germany, UK, Romania, Georgia, Thailand, Netherlands, China, Turkey, Russia etc. She has worked with some eminent personalities in the dance world which includes Ms. Sharmistha Mukherjee, Kathak dancer, politician and daughter of the 13th President of India. She joined the Drishtikon Dance Foundation in July 2015 and has been since dancing as a repertory member. Apart from her education in dance Anjana also holds a Sangeet Prabhakar in Vocals and an M. A. in English.
Shilpa Nandyala
Bollywood Dance Instructor
Shilpa started her dance journey at a really young age. By learning many years of Bharatnatyam and Bollywood, she has always been very passionate about dance and has found a passion for teaching our students who are so eager to learn from their Ms. Shilpa! She loves watching the younger ones start their journey as early as she did and is thrilled to watch them grow with us at Thumak. When Shilpa is not dancing, you'll find her playing with her dog, Disney, choreographing dances with her sister and trying new things.
Tessa Goth
BollyX Instructor
Tessa has been a fitness instructor for over 20 years and firmly believes in moving everyday and doing what you love. She's a certified BollyX instructor and is so excited to be on our team! She's certified in Body Pump and Kickboxing as well. She grew up in Los Angeles and was part of a Polynesian Dance Group for 20 years. Tessa loves any type of activity but especially loves playing Beach Volleyball, Tennis and Golf. After having kids, she decided to become a fitness instructor and considers it the best decision she ever made. Apart from her love for fitness, she's a huge Harry Potter fan and in her down time, you’ll find her immersed in the HP universe.