Miranda ten Broeke

Co-Founder / Program Director - Shakti Caravan

Miranda has danced with the Vanavers since her toes could point and her heels could flex. She is a co-founder of Shakti Caravan, as well as a dancer, teacher, project manager. In 2012 she was awarded a Fellowship from the India China Institute at The New School and traveled to Udaipur to finish a college thesis project and teach dance for, what was then, the Vanaver / BMCT pilot program. That small project has since grown into the ever-moving Shakti Caravan. She is currently dancing happily between planning programs for people in Brooklyn, NY, and Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.  

Marina Lopez

Co-Founder - Shakti Caravan

Marina  began her training with The Vanaver Caravan at four. She studied multiple forms of movement such as modern technique, ballet,flamenco, swing dance, Argentine Tango, percussive dance, Appalachian clog dancing, traditional folk dance as well competitive gymnastics. At the age of sixteen, she began dancing professionally for The Vanaver Caravan, stomping the stages of Rudolstadt Folk Festival in Germany, The Egg in Albany, Symphony Space on Broadway and Lincoln Center in New York City. She is honored to have performed for audiences around the world at both prestigious theaters seating thousands and overflowing festival dance tents at folk festivals. Marina graduated from the Finger Lakes School of Massage in 2010 and is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist.

Livia Vanaver

Co-Founder / Artistic Director, The Vanaver Caravan

For the past 41 years Livia has been traveling throughout the US and abroad with her musician/composer husband Bill Vanaver, and Company of extraordinary dancers and musicians, collecting and performing traditional dance and music from many cultures. They are acclaimed for utilizing traditional sources in the creation of original works and presenting them for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Her commitment to creating community through the vehicle of dance has lead her to work with Friendship Ambassadors Foundation in their Balkan Peace and Reconciliation project in Eastern Europe and their program working with families of the victims of 9/11. Ms. Vanaver holds a BFA in Dance from NYU School of the Arts (Tisch).

Bill Vanaver

Co-Founder /  Director - The Vanaver Caravan

Well known musician and symphonic composer has been playing to audiences throughout the world for the past 50 years. He is known for his stellar instrumental work on 5 string banjo as well a myriad of other folk instruments. With his vast knowledge of traditional song and musical styles, he has enlivened audiences for over 50 years at such venues as the Newport and the Philadelphia Folk Festivals. For the past eight years, Bill Vanaver has taught “World Dance and Music” at Bard and Skidmore Colleges. Since 1985, he has brought his American and World Music and Dance into the classroom as a lead Teaching Artist with The Vanaver Caravan. He has worked closely with students, classroom and music teachers to broaden their multi-cultural music, song and movement repertoire.

Rita Dixit-Kubiak

Co-Founder / Program Coordinator / Founder Trustee / Big Medicine Charitable Trust

Rita Dixit Kubiak is an Indian national who has lived in Japan and the US for over thirty years forming lasting networks between individuals and organizations involved in cross cultural exchanges, eco-tourism, natural health practices, and women's issues in her two adopted countries and her native India. She also teaches yoga, practices shiatsu and writes on health and the environment for US and Japanese journals.

She is the onsite program director and co-coordinator of Shatki Caravan, as well as a co-founder of Shakti Caravan. 

Bharat Verma  

Teacher / Performer

Bharat Verma was born and raised in Udaipur, India. He is the founder and director of the Heart Beators Dance Institute and has choreographed for a multitude of events, workshops and schools, including film shoots . He is trained in Bollywood, Indian Folk, and Semi Indian and Contemporary Dance. Since joining the Shakti Caravan team, Bharat has fallen in love with percussive dance and body percussion. He has made a name for himself as the pioneer body percussion choreographer in India. He continues to teach and perform with Shakti Caravan in both Udaipur and New York.