Aliyah has been a passionate dancer from a very tender age. She has been trained rigorously from the age of 3 in the Lucknow gharana of classical Kathak dance, under the tutelage of Smt. Ruby Mishra and Pt. Jai Kishan Maharaj, son of the late maestro Pt. Birju Maharaj. She is currently a student of Smt. Paramita Maitra, senior disciple of Maharaj Ji.
She moved to Austin in 2017, and has since been passing on her love for dance to the younger generation. Taking an interest in artistic areas beyond dance, such as editing and choreographing, she maintains a YouTube channel for her creations in various genres like classical and folk dance.
Aliyah is also currently a dance fellow with Indian Raga, in addition to performing at various events internationally. She has also carried over her art form into making a difference for the community. During COVID, when she experienced classical artists around the world struggling to maintain visibility, she founded Naari Shraddha, an initiative that organises digital concerts to promote young Indian classical performing artists and fundraise for victims of domestic violence around the globe. So far, Naari Shraddha has interacted with more than 50 artists during its two concerts, raising funds for over 10 organisations in the US, India, and Turkey.
Additionally, through her art, Aliyah has also supported other social causes such as being invited to speak on dance and performing arts by various Girl Up clubs, in order to connect with the younger generation and make them more involved with the performing arts. She has also performed in numerous online concerts during the pandemic, for fundraisers aimed at providing education in rural areas and furnishing COVID relief in India.
In addition to being a dancer, Aliyah is also an accomplished writer, taking a special interest in covering the performance arts. Her work on dance, Indian cinema, and poetry has been published on notable platforms like The Alipore Post, The Rekhta Foundation, the Indigenous blog, etc. She is also an active participant in journalism, as well as classical art archive work and research with organisations such as UPAJ India.
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