HISTORY
FROM KAZAKHSTAN TO THE WORLD
What began as a childhood fascination with Indian dance grew into more than 25 years of artistic practice, study, performance and entrepreneurship across countries and cultures.
DISCOVERING DANCE
Kazakhstan · 1990s
Kassiyet was born in Kazakhstan in 1993, shortly after the country gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Her mother had grown up fascinated by Raj Kapoor, Indian cinema, music and culture. During the Soviet era, however, access to Indian arts was limited. She learned songs phonetically from films, often without knowing the actual lyrics, simply singing what she heard.
When Kassiyet was born, her mother began teaching her the dance movements she had absorbed from Indian films and dressing her as best she could. At three years old, Kassiyet’s first “saree” was a curtain wrapped around her by her mother.
For several years, her mother continued to teach her whatever she knew until, in 1999, Kassiyet began formal Bharatanatyam training at the Indian Embassy in Almaty.
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
Almaty · 1999–2010
In 1999, Kassiyet began formal training at the Indian Cultural Centre of the Embassy of India in Almaty, where she would study for the next eleven years.
Her early training began with Indian folk dances before developing into an extensive study of Bharatanatyam in the Kalakshetra bani. Over the years, she learned a wide repertoire while developing the discipline, technique and movement vocabulary that would form the foundation of her later professional training in India.
Her childhood education in movement extended well beyond Bharatanatyam. Alongside Indian dance, Kassiyet trained in ballet and gymnastics, studied other folk and Western dance forms, learned swimming, and participated extensively in sports including volleyball, basketball and tennis.
Ballet and gymnastics in particular complemented her Bharatanatyam training, developing flexibility, coordination, strength and spatial awareness from an early age.
By the end of this period, dance was no longer simply something she had inherited from her mother’s fascination with India. It had become the central discipline of her childhood and the beginning of a much larger artistic life.
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FIRST JOURNEY TO INDIA
India · 2007
In 2007, Kassiyet traveled to India to perform as part of the celebrations marking 15 years of diplomatic relations between India and Kazakhstan.
The trip became a turning point. Until then, India had existed largely through films, music, dance training and imagination. Experiencing the country in person opened an entirely new world to her and deepened her connection to both India and Bharatanatyam.
For Kassiyet, dance had become more than an art form — it was already creating access to places, people and possibilities she had never encountered before.
That first journey made the idea of returning to India for deeper training feel possible.
INDIA
FULL-TIME TRAINING
New Delhi · 2010–2017
In the summer of 2010, after completing high school in Almaty, Kassiyet received an ICCR scholarship to pursue advanced Bharatanatyam training at Ganesa Natyalaya in New Delhi, under the tutelage of Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan.
She arrived in India with more than a decade of formal Bharatanatyam training behind her and was quickly integrated into the performing environment of the institution. That autumn, only months after arriving, she performed at the Opening Ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi — her first performance in India after beginning her scholarship.
The years that followed were defined by rigorous, full-time training. From 2010 to 2017, Kassiyet immersed herself in Bharatanatyam through daily practice, repertoire, rehearsals and performance, while continuing to develop the technical and artistic depth of her training.
In 2012, she completed her arangetram, marking an important milestone in her development as a Bharatanatyam artist.
This period was also intensely performative. Alongside her training, Kassiyet performed and toured extensively across India and internationally, with engagements taking her to countries including the United States, Japan and Thailand.
A WIDER WORLD
Europe · 2017–2020
After seven years of intensive training and performance in India, Kassiyet entered a new chapter in 2017, moving to Europe to pursue a degree in International Relations at the University of Pécs in Hungary.
Alongside her studies, she continued to perform professionally and began developing a more independent artistic practice. She started teaching, conducting masterclasses and workshops across Europe, and working directly with students and audiences outside the institutional framework in which she had trained.
Living and studying in Europe expanded her world beyond the performing arts. She was increasingly exposed to international affairs, diplomacy, institutions and a broader global environment, while continuing to build her career through performance and education.
In 2019, Kassiyet completed an internship at United Nations Headquarters in New York, gaining first-hand exposure to international institutions and multilateral diplomacy.
BUILDING A LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES
San Francisco Bay Area · 2020–2024
In 2020, Kassiyet moved to the United States and established her first professional base in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Over the next four years, she continued to perform, teach and develop her independent career in Bharatanatyam while building a new professional life in the U.S. She worked with students, presented workshops and masterclasses, collaborated with arts and cultural organizations, and expanded her work beyond the traditional performance circuit.
During this period, Kassiyet also participated in several conferences and programs at Stanford University, experiences that broadened her understanding of leadership, entrepreneurship and organizational thinking.
The Bay Area years marked the beginning of a more entrepreneurial chapter. Kassiyet developed her own educational initiatives, began building what would later evolve into Kassiyet Arts, and explored new ways of creating a sustainable career around artistic practice, education and independent projects.
NEW YORK
2024–Present
In 2024, Kassiyet moved to New York City, establishing a new professional base in a city that brought together many strands of her career — performance, culture, entrepreneurship and international work.
She continued to perform and teach while expanding her presence within New York’s artistic and cultural landscape. Her work included performances with Ragamala Dance Company at Lincoln Center, appearances at Indian cultural and institutional events, and continued engagement with students, workshops and artistic projects.
New York also became the setting for a broader professional evolution. Kassiyet began developing her work beyond performance more deliberately — through artistic leadership, advisory, creative projects, producing and entrepreneurship — while continuing to build Kassiyet Arts as an independent artistic organization.
This period also marked an important milestone in her life in the United States, as she received recognition under the EB-1A Extraordinary Ability classification and secured permanent residency.
Rather than representing a departure from dance, New York became the place where the different parts of Kassiyet’s career began to coexist more clearly: artist, founder, educator, advisor and entrepreneur.
BUILDING BEYOND THE STAGE
Artist · Founder · Entrepreneur
Over time, Kassiyet’s work expanded beyond performance into artistic leadership, entrepreneurship, producing, curatorial work and advisory.
She founded Kassiyet Arts, developing it as a professional Bharatanatyam performing company and training institution, while continuing to create opportunities for dancers through education, workshops, residencies and artistic programming.
Her work has also extended into independent creative projects — including producing, curating programs with senior artists, movement and dance coaching for film, and advising artists on building international and sustainable careers.
Alongside her work in the arts, Kassiyet began developing Kassiyet New York, expanding her entrepreneurial interests into beauty, design and consumer business.
What began with a curtain wrapped as a saree in Kazakhstan has gradually evolved into a career spanning art, culture, education, leadership and entrepreneurship — while dance remains the foundation from which everything else grew.
