Prashant Kakad

Prashant Kakad, also known by his stage name DJ Prashant, is an Indian-born Bollywood entertainer, best known for singing, dancing and hosting Jai Ho! parties across the Western United States. He is the owner of Bollywood Dreams Entertainment.[1]

Prashant moved from India to the U.S. in June 2003 to complete a Science PhD program at Cornell University. After receiving a patent and obtaining his Master's degree, he quit the program to enter a career at Intel in 2006. Prashant left Intel after three and a half years to follow his passion and establish Bollywood Dreams Entertainment "to foster communities and bring people together from across the world."

Early life and career

Prashant was born in Nasik, India & raised in Mumbai, India, where he resided through college. He obtained a Bachelor of Technology degree in Fiber Science and Textile Processing from the University Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly UDCT). He moved to Ithaca, New York in 2003, where he obtained a Master of Science degree in Polymer Science from Cornell University.

At Cornell, Prashant served as a research assistant and as a member of the Graduate Student Assembly. He has a United States patent, "Electrospun Nanofibers-Based Biosensor Assemblies." [2] He was also published in multiple engineering journals.[3][4][5]

Prashant went on to work as a process engineer for Intel, one of the world's leading technology companies.[6][7]

Musical Career and Jai Ho !

After dedicating much of his young professional life to science, Prashant left his position at Intel for a career in performance. Inspired by the culture of his birthplace, India, he went on to establish Bollywood Dreams Entertainment, a production company focused on the creation of Bollywood and Bhangra-inspired crossover music, dance and related cultural experiences and events. The company's missions include fostering cultural and community growth and encouraging exuberant fun, acceptance and discovery through dance, song, videos and enriching cultural exchanges.[8]

Kakad and his team lead regular Jai Ho! dance parties, as well as performances at Portland's India Festival, World Domination Summit.

Prashant’s work has been featured on TV-Asia, King5-TV, KGW-TV and in newspapers such as The Oregonian, The Asian Reporter and Helena Air.[9][10][11][12][13]

A Bollywood Dream

After expanding Jai Ho! Dance Party to seven cities in the US, in 2017 Prashant started working on his first narrative production - ‘A Bollywood Dream’.

It featured Bollywood music and dance as well as choral pieces performed by the Eugene Concert Choir to recreate a 90s Bollywood romantic musical live on stage. Prashant directed, choreographed & narrated ‘A Bollywood Dream’ as well as co-wrote the script.

This highly anticipated production was held at the prestigious Hult Center of Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon on 28 April 2018.[14] It received positive critical response with a reviewer reporting in The Register Guard, "An enthusiastic audience at the Hult Center frequently participated in clapping along and even dancing in the aisles throughout the evening".[15]

References
  1. "Bhangra music -- and dancing -- is getting big in Portland". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  2. Frey, Margaret W.; Baeumner, Antje J.; Li, Dapeng; Kakad, Prashant (3 February 2009), Electrospun nanofiber-based biosensor assemblies, retrieved 17 June 2016
  3. "Formation of Nanofibers via Electrospinning". www.joogroup.org. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  4. "Self-Assembled Structures in Electrospun Poly(styrene-block-isoprene) Fibers" (PDF).
  5. "Structure developments in electrospun fibers of block copolymers / by Prashant Ashok Kakad".
  6. "Intel Company Overview". Intel. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. "Bhangra music -- and dancing -- is getting big in Portland". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  8. "Bhangra music -- and dancing -- is getting big in Portland". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. "Bollywood Dance Teacher | Bollywood DJ | Indian DJ". Bollywood Dreams Entertainment, LLC. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  10. Record, MARGA LINCOLN Independent. "Bollywood is back: Traveling troupe returning with Indian music and dancing". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  11. Record, MARGA LINCOLN Independent. "Bollywood Night comes to Helena". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  12. TEGNA. "Bollywood dance parties offer new club scene". KING. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  13. "Bhangra music -- and dancing -- is getting big in Portland". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  14. Theophil, Morgan. "Bollywood moment". The Register Guard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  15. Register-Guard, Alison Kaufman For The. "Review: Eugene Concert Choir exposes rich 'Bollywood' energy to Eugene audiences". The Register Guard. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
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