Sita is a Yogini and Kirtan Walli based in Santa Monica, California where she teaches yoga and
sings Kirtan regularly at Bhakti Yoga Shala and throughout the Los Angeles area.
Sita began singing, dancing and performing out of the womb. Throughout her childhood she was
a member of the Rhythm Machine Dance Company at Retter's Academy of Dance In Agoura
Hills where she not only performed and toured around California, she was also fortunate to travel
with the Retter's on various dance conventions all over the US and was awarded the Winston
Hemsley Memorial Scholarship in 1998. In 1999 Sita won the Tremaine Yearly Convention
Scholarship and traveled with Tremaine conventions nationally as an assistant teacher her senior
year of high school. Sita went on to receive her BFA in dance from The University of California
Santa Barbara in 2005 where she performed extensively with the UCSB dance company all over
California and throughout her collegiate career. At UCSB she was awarded the Dorothy
Chandler award for Outstanding Choreography in her Senior piece "Both Psyds". After
graduation Sita moved back to Los Angeles and joined Holly Johnston's Ledges and Bones
Dance Project and Bradley Michaud's Method Dance where she performed throughout the Los
Angeles area. After about 3 years of professional dance Sita decided to take a leap of faith and
deepen her yoga practice which she had been cultivating since her junior year in high school. It
was also around this time that she began going to regular Kirtan Gatherings, the art of ecstatic
chanting. This ancient practice resonated with her so deeply it changed the course of her life. She
moved into an ashram in Hawaii and received her 500 yoga certificate from the yoga alliance
and began leading Kirtan and teaching yoga at the ashram. After about a year of island life Sita
decided to move back to Los Angeles to be with her family at Bhakti Yoga Shala in Santa
Monica and was welcomed home with open arms. She has been singing and playing kartals with
the owners of the Shala Govindas and Radha since Bhakti Fest 2009. Sita teaches yoga 6 days a
week at the Shala and sings kirtan regulary there with Govindas and Radha. In addition she
plays Mrdanga and sings with Andres Salcedo and has played with Saul David Raye and Prema
Hara at Exhale in Venice. Sita is most excited about her newest project Dub Kirtan All Stars
where her two loves dance and Kirtan have come together. DKAS is a collective of live DJs
David Starfire and Freq Nasty, singers and musicians singing and playing kirtan live with edgy
electronics and deep driving bass lines. Sita is looking forward to spring and summer festivals
where she will be joining Govindas and Radha for Bhakti Fest, and Dub Kirtan All Stars at
Lightning in a Bottle and Harmony Festival.
