Pallavi Degwekar is an internationally acclaimed kathak exponent, educator, and cultural ambassador dedicated to the preservation and global dissemination of Indian classical dance. She is the founder and artistic director of Pallavi Kathak LLC / Nrityavali Gurukul, New Jersey, USA—an institution devoted to the rigorous preservation and holistic transmission of kathak through disciplined training and immersive artistic practice. Rooted in the guru–shishya paramparā, the gurukul offers structured curricula, workshops, lecture-demonstrations, and collaborations with distinguished scholars and musicians, providing students with technical, historical, theoretical, and philosophical grounding in kathak.

The institution maintains an academic affiliation with the Bharati Vidyapeeth School of Performing Arts, Pune, and Pallavi Degwekar has served for over a decade as Center-In-Charge and Examiner for Bharati Vidyapeeth in the Tri-State region.

A disciple of Smt. Asha Tai Joglekar, she further refined her artistry under Pandit Birju Maharaj and Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. She holds an Alankar in kathak and is the recipient of honors including the Singar Mani title and the National Award, Akhil Bharatiya Pratibha Puraskar. Pallavi Degwekar and the Pallavi Kathak ensembles have performed extensively on prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Dance Parade NYC, Dance New Jersey, the Guru Poornima Mahotsav, and the New York Kathak Festival.

In June 2026, under her artistic direction, the Pallavi Kathak Gurukul will present the Akhanḍa—Dvādaśa Ghanṭā Nāda Yajña, a twelve-hour continuous kathak offering believed to be the first of its kind in the United States. The milestone will be witnessed and acknowledged by local officials, scholars, artists, and cultural practitioners from diverse artistic traditions across the world.