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About Chitra
Chitra Subramanian is an Indian American dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Washington, DC. A Pittsburgh native and originally from South India, she teaches, choreographs, and performs with her collective, chitra.MOVES. Her aesthetic draws from Hip Hop and Indian classical and folk foundations to tell stories, elevate artists, and meaningfully engage unseen and new audiences.
Chitra fell in love with Hip Hop in the club scenes of Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. Spaces like the Shadow Lounge and Reunion Thursdays weren’t just places to dance—they were spaces where she learned about her city, forged lifelong friendships, and discovered her purpose and creative voice.
Chitra’s work is deeply influenced by her 20+ years in youth education and community work, particularly with young people and their families in DC. Her performance projects explore themes of relationships, community, and the transformative power of institutions. Drawing on her immigrant roots and love for Hip Hop, Chitra’s creative process is shaped by strong community ties and a commitment to exposing untapped talent.
Recent works include TEMPLE, an evening-length work that was presented at Dance Place; LINKED, which premiered during her Atlas ArtsLAB residency; and Village Stories, which premiered and sold out shows at The Kennedy Center. Chitra also curates and teaches Rooting the Dance Hip Hop Series, spotlighting women and femmes in DC’s street dance community while providing consistent, high-quality training.
Chitra is a recipient of the Gallim Parent Moving Artist Residency, DC Commission Fellowship Grant, Atlas ArtsLAB Fellowship, the Kennedy Center’s Local Dance Commissioning Project, and the National Dance Project Production Grant.
About chitra.MOVES
The seeds for chitra.MOVES were planted when my family and I moved briefly to Cleveland from 2015–2018. I found an incredible community of dancers who became friends, collaborators and mentors. At that time, nearly all of the street dance scene in Cleveland existed outside of any formal studio/organization— taking place in parks, garages, basements, and clubs. Some dancers wanted to learn more about my classical movement background. We started informally experimenting with movement and choreography, blending styles together and exploring new concepts. It started simple—gathering at the park, sharing choreography, filming, laughing, and having fun. The rawness and self-awareness of the dancers inspired me to take a more organized approach to performance.
Drawing from the passion/talents built up in Cleveland/Pittsburgh and then expanded in DC, chitra.MOVES has become a collective of diverse artists, coming together to create, exchange, and build relationships.
Our Experiences