India Center of Westchester acts as the nerve center of Indian Americans in the tri-state areas of New York, Connecticut and Northern New Jersey and brings various offerings to the community showcasing the rich and ancient heritage of India. The Center provides a venue to celebrate all occasions of significance to the community, music, dance, art, spiritual, intellectual, creative and many Indian regional language classes for children and adults, social and cultural activities that span the spectrum of India’s diversity.

In keeping up with the aims and objectives of the Center, it is presenting a program of classical music and dance, Wa No Kakehashi, Bridge of Understanding.This event is a showcase of higher and advanced levels of art and culture for students beyond India Center community, open to mainstream Americans and lovers of music and dance. The role of our performers is to inspire learning and adopting art of different cultures and eventually experience the joy of advancing to a higher skill level. The purpose of the program is to give exposure of these traditional cultural dance and music forms not only limited to students who are learning but to the whole community of Westchester. This would inculcate appreciation for this wonderful traditional art which seems to be losing its importance in the younger generation.

Nalini Toshniwal of Ruchika Dance Academy, is a prominent Kathak artist and teacher in Japan. She received her training in Ajmer under guidance of eminent Kathak Acharya Shri Manak Chand Jodhpuri, who is the Guru bhai of late Pt. Durga Lal ji and disciple of Guru Pt. Sunder Prasad ji (Jaipur Gharana). Nalini founded Ruchika Dance Academy in Ajmer in the year 1990. The academy was relocated in Kobe, Japan when she moved to Japan in 1993. It is her constant endeavor to help her students in developing an all rounded personality through dance and to inspire them with the aesthetic and spiritual merits of KATHAK and Indian culture. Nalini has organized several dance concerts and has invited famous artists from all over the globe. Members of Ruchika dance academy have participated in several dance and cultural exchange events in Japan and other countries – India, USA and UK. Ruchika Dance Academy, showcasing Kathak and Japanese dance and music in India, introduced India and Indian culture in Japan by inviting artists from India, showing performances, visiting school and arranging lecture demonstration for better understanding of India. There are many other events organized by Embassy, Consulate, Japanese cultural affairs where she participated and worked hard to show real image of India and Indian culture in Japan as well as in India.