Nikita Rao is a Los Angeles–based Bharatanatyam practitioner. She began her training at the age of eight and completed her arangetram in 2011. Nikita trained under Viji Prakash at the Shakti School of Bharata Natyam in Los Angeles, where she developed a strong technical foundation and appeared in over 20 productions. For more than a decade, she has been trained and mentored by renowned choreographer and dancer Mythili Prakash with whom she continues to tour internationally. Nikita has also trained in Chennai under the guidance of Malavika Sarukkai and Bragha Bessell. She has participated in numerous solo and company productions, most recently appearing in Mythili Prakash’s She’s Auspicious, which toured the United States, London and Singapore. She has performed at prestigious venues across the globe, including the Esplanade in Singapore, Sadler’s Wells East in London, and the Ford Theatre in Los Angeles.