Our Family
Directors
Zoobin Surty
Hybrid Indian Classical & Contemporary Dance Artist | Artistic Director, Karma Dance | PhD Candidate, Performing Arts, Leeds Beckett University, Artistic Director
“Dance born from pain, shaped by silence, and transformed into light.”
Zoobin Surty is a hybrid Indian classical dance artist from Bombay, India, whose work bridges tradition and contemporary practice across the UK and India. Trained in Indian classical and contemporary dance at Birkbeck College, London, and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, he has developed a distinctive choreographic voice rooted in healing, mental health, and human connection.
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His artistic practice explores dance as an embodied language of resilience, empathy, and belonging. Collaborating with musicians and dancers across cultures, Zoobin transforms personal and collective trauma into artistic expression, using movement to create dialogue, reflection, and healing.
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A recent journey into profound deafness has reshaped his work into what he calls “the movement of silence,” where stillness, vibration, and the body become powerful tools of communication and emotional expression. Currently pursuing a PhD in Performing Arts at Leeds Beckett University, his research focuses on embodiment, sensory experience, and the healing potential of dance.
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As Artistic Director of Karma Dance CIC, Zoobin creates inclusive spaces where movement supports mental health, builds community, and turns silence into hope.
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The passing of his mother and the loss of hearing deeply impacted his mental health, leading him into a period of isolation and emotional struggle. In that stillness, he discovered that trauma lives within the body and that movement could become a path toward healing. Dance became his language — a bridge from silence to expression, from despair to light.
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Today, through Karma Dance CIC, Zoobin works with individuals, communities, and organisations to create spaces where loneliness transforms into connection, stillness becomes mindfulness, and movement becomes a shared journey of healing, resilience, and hope.
*Bridging worlds through rhythm, resilience, and reflection*
XiaoYi Tong
Director of Karma Dance CIC / Associate Choreographer/ Performer
With seven years of classical ballet training and four years of contemporary dance training in China, Xiaoyi Tong now works internationally as a choreographer under the UK Global Talent Visa, endorsed by Arts Council England.
From 2022 to 2024, she collaborated with directors across Europe and the UK as a performer. Her work has been presented in Mexico, Hamburg, the Framed Berlin Festival, Edinburgh, and Newcastle.
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Since joining Karma Dance CIC in 2022, Tong has contributed to the creation and performance of six projects, spanning both professional productions and community-based work.
Most recently, her dance theatre project Emptiness was supported by Arts Council England. In 2025, she will receive the Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund. She also created two contemporary dance works for the graduating class of the Saint Petersburg Eifman Ballet Academy. My artistic growth has been deeply supported by Karma Dance over the past four years in the UK.
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"Diminished" is not just a dance piece — it is a unique project that began with an R&D journey full of honesty, bravery, and vulnerability. It invites us to connect with real people and to uncover truth through art. All of its elements are drawn from things that have happened, are still happening, or might continue to happen — even if we don’t yet know it. It pushes us — and the audience — to confront what we often try to avoid.
Mehernosh Mehernomji
Director
Mehernosh plays a key role in overseeing IT requests across the company, ensuring that technical issues and support needs are handled in an organised and efficient way. By keeping track of incoming requests and prioritising them effectively, they help prevent delays and ensure smooth operations. Their timely follow-through supports quicker resolutions, enhancing overall efficiency and improving responsiveness across the organisation.
Nirdesh Jandu
Community Relations Director & Safeguarding Lead
Nirdesh Jandu is a Director at Karma Dance CIC, leading community engagement, inclusion, and wellbeing through arts and culture programmes.
Since joining in 2023, she has developed projects engaging diverse groups, including deaf and hard of hearing participants communities, broadening access to movement and creative expression.
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A former Deputy Head in Adult Education at Leeds City College, Nirdesh brings extensive experience supporting vulnerable communities, including those with mental health challenges.
Her work creates inclusive spaces that inspire confidence, strengthen communities, and enhance both physical and mental wellbeing.
Phil Sanger
Rehearsals Director
Phil Sanger is currently a doctoral student at Guildford School of Acting (part of Surrey University) and is undertaking an LGBTQ+-focused project which explores performance ecologies of socially engaged dance theatre.
Between 2016 and 2023 he was a performance lecturer at NSCD, and has also taught workshops and training programs in numerous universities and conservatoires in Asia, USA and Europe.
He continues to support creativity and dance practice, offering classes, workshops and rehearsal direction that are now rooted in coaching-based research.
Mentor & Producer
Mark Hollander
Mark Hollander - With over 30 years of experience working in arts and culture, as a practitioner, a consultant, in senior roles at
Arts Council England, and as an executive director at five arts charities, including LEEDS 2023 Year of Culture, Phoenix Dance Theatre, and Freedom Studios, I bring extensive experience of arts and culture funding, strategy, and operations.
My work has spanned theater,a performing arts, museums and galleries, local authorities, music services, heritage organisations, as well as individual practitioners.
Now a true mentor to Karma Dance ( mental health and Truama ) CIC. Zoobin is very exicted to collaborate with him.
Company Dancers
Jacob Gale
Company Dancer
He graduated from the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in 2020 and from Northern School of Contemporary Dance’s postgraduate company, VERVE, in 2025. He has worked with choreographers including Christopher Bruce, Zoobin Surty, Eliot Smith, Bosmat Nossam, Luca Signoretti, Harriet Macauley, Sattva Nguyên, and Devika Rao.
Jake is delighted to return to Diminished, having been part of its first R&D. The piece’s sensitive and important themes resonate deeply with him, and he hopes that through dance, the work can shed light on these issues and offer comfort to those affected.
Amari Webb-Martin
Company Dancer
Relentless in seeking creativity and inspiration, Amari Webb-Martin is a London-based dance artist and recent graduate of the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. He has worked with Uchenna Dance, Company of Others, Keneish Dance, and Ella Mesma Company, with a keen interest in fusing Contemporary dance with dances of the African Diaspora. Passionate about creating work that advocates, educates, and sparks dialogue, Amari is excited to join Diminished with Karma Dance CIC, exploring how lived experience can shape raw, resonant art.
Tishainy Constancia
Company Dancer
She discovered her passion for dance at an early age. She graduated from Rambert School in 2023. For her, dance is a way to keep growing and hopefully inspire others along the way.
The work of Karma Dance resonates with her because she believes that dance can create emotional and intellectual experiences for an audience.
Kasia Kuzka
Company Dancer
She is a London-based dancer and movement artist, and a 2023 graduate of the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. She has performed at the Venice Biennale 2025 under Wayne McGregor, in works by Sasha Waltz & Guests and Anthony Matsena; at the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony; and in the NOWNESS film PUMP. Kasia has collaborated with renowned artists including Marina Abramović, Andrew Winghart, ASHISH, and Thick&Tight. She is currently working with Karma Dance, inspired by its mission to give voice to hidden experiences and underrepresented stories in dance.
Collaborators
Pradeep Singh
International Collaborator / Trustee
Pradeep Singh is a yoga teacher and movement educator from Rishikesh, India, with a Master’s Degree in Yoga, ERYT-500 certification, and multiple ACE movement and corrective exercise qualifications. With over six years of teaching experience, he blends traditional yogic philosophy with modern approaches to anatomy, movement, and embodied learning. He teaches on international Yoga Teacher Training programmes at Vinyasa Yoga Ashram and has led workshops and retreats across Asia. He is currently collaborating in the United Kingdom on interdisciplinary projects exploring the connection between yoga, movement, and expressive arts.
Luke Reddin-Williams
Musician
Luke Reddin-Williams is an award-winning drummer and percussionist based in Leeds, known for his work with the Mercury Prize-nominated Roller Trio and the Afro Punk-Jazz quartet Vipertime. After touring India in 2019, he developed a deep passion for Hindustani Classical Music and now studies the Gayaki style of sitar under Ustad Dharambir Singh. As a tutor and performer with South Asian Arts UK, Luke blends his jazz background with Indian classical influences to create a distinctive sound. His collaboration with Karma Dance CIC has further deepened his artistic journey, inspiring him to address social issues through his music.
Tak Kei Wong (Kev)
Musician
Graduated with a Master in Music (composition) from Royal Northern College of Music, Tak Kei Wong is a Hong Kong composer, violinist and graphic designer currently based in Manchester. He has been actively participating in the performing art industry in all three roles.
Josh Smout
Musician
He is a drummer currently involved with a number of projects spanning several genres including Jazz, Classical, Rock, World and Pop. Notable performances include festivals in Italy, Spain & Finland as well as performing at some of the country's most prestigious venues such as the Royal Concert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Westminster Hall.
Anuraag Dhoundeyal
International Musician
A vocalist, music director, poet, and a TedX Speaker from Mumbai, India, brings a deep spiritual essence to his music, inspired by Sufi poetry and ancient Indian non-dual philosophy. With decades of training in Indian classical music, he blends traditional raagas with contemporary influences, creating a rich tapestry of soundscapes and soulful melodies.
Silviu Pavaluca
UI/UX Designer & Graphic Designer
He is a UI/UX Designer and Graphic Designer specialising in branding and design, bringing a distinctive and expressive flair to his work. Drawing from a multicultural background, he combines diverse influences with a sharp eye for bold, innovative visual storytelling.
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His creative vision spans across multiple mediums, where he crafts compelling brand identities that connect with varied audiences and leave a lasting impression.
Friends of Karma Dance
Sharon Watson
CEO & Principle of NSCD
Doctor of the Arts, Clore Leadership, Windsor Leadership
Shenward Accountants
Elly Welford
Photo Credit
Carmen Thompson
Poet
Azizi Cole
Musician
Gabrielle Cresswell-Porter
GCP Strategies
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Milly Dennison
Photo Credit
Callum Holt
Mentor
Erica Strickland
Volunteers Leader
Devika Rao
Devika Dance Theatre
Tiia & Douglas
Maddogs Theatre
Kamal Macdonald
Film Maker