Krystal Kiran Garib

Krystal Kiran Garib is a Canadian performer, singer, dancer, filmmaker, producer, choreographer, and philanthropist whose work spans Broadway, film, and international concert touring. Of Sikh and Punjabi heritage, she was born and raised in Penticton, British Columbia, while also spending formative time in Kolkata, West Bengal, where her father's family originates. She attended multiple schools across both countries, including Parkway Elementary, Calcutta International School, Penticton Community Christian School, Wiltse Elementary, The Glenfir School, and Penticton Secondary School, from which she graduated in 2002. In 2009, she was inducted into the School District 67 Okanagan Skaha Wall of Fame, which honors distinguished alumni.

Garib began studying dance at age three, training in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, modern, contemporary, musical theatre, and Kathak. As a teenager she participated in community theatre productions of West Side Story and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Having struggled with a severe stutter throughout her childhood, she began vocal training at fourteen as an alternative to conventional speech therapy, studying western classical voice and Bel canto technique in Canada and Hindustani classical music during visits to India. In 2001, she enrolled in the Miss Penticton Royalty program partly as a means of addressing her stutter and fear of public speaking, ultimately winning the pageant, receiving the award for Best Speech, and being crowned the 54th Queen Val Vedette. That same summer, at sixteen, she began her professional performing career as a dancer at Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition.

Garib made her Broadway debut in 2004 as an original ensemble cast member of Bombay Dreams, the musical composed by A. R. Rahman with book by Meera Syal and produced in association with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Directed by Steven Pimlott and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast alongside Bollywood choreographer Farah Khan and her assistant Geeta Kapoor, the production also featured Garib as an understudy for the leading role of Priya. With the Bombay Dreams company, she appeared on Good Morning America, Live with Regis and Kelly, and Canada AM. In 2005, still as a member of the cast, she was selected to headline performances for Macy's Passport events in Los Angeles and San Francisco, hosted by Sharon Stone and Jennifer Lopez, as well as MAC Cosmetics Fashion Cares Bollywood Cowboy alongside Jann Arden, Pamela Anderson, Feist, and Punjabi Hit Squad.

The following year, Garib joined the world premiere stage production of the Lord of the Rings musical, produced by Kevin Wallace and Mirvish Productions, with music by A. R. Rahman, Värttinä, and Christopher Nightingale, book and lyrics by Matthew Warchus and Shaun McKenna, and choreography by Peter Darling. In that production she understudied all female ensemble roles, including the role of Arwen. As a film dancer, her credits include Hairspray, The Love Guru, and Repo! The Genetic Opera. She has also modeled for Femina magazine and appeared on the cover of Dance Spirit Magazine.

In 2010, Garib became the first and sole North American singer and performer to tour internationally with Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer A. R. Rahman, joining his Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour. Among her fellow touring musicians was flautist Naveen Kumar, who had been prominently featured on the Bombay soundtrack. Rahman's music had been a significant influence on Garib since childhood, when she first encountered his work through the film Bombay.

In 2009, Garib founded House of Kiran, a non-profit performing arts production company that has organized fundraising events for organizations including DesiFEST Toronto and Toronto's Speech and Stuttering Institute. Her production Speaking of Shakespeare featured the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Tony Award-winning actor Brent Carver, and Grammy Award-winning musician Jonathan Arons, raising over $40,000 for individuals affected by speech disorders. In 2011, House of Kiran partnered with the family of Maple Batalia, a nineteen-year-old Simon Fraser University student who was killed, to establish a performing arts bursary in her memory supporting young South Asian-Canadian women pursuing the arts.

In 2012, House of Kiran produced its first short film, Thy Beauty's Doom – In Memory of Maple Batalia, funded by Canada's bravoFACT. Written and directed by Garib, the film features her as a performer and includes music by Christine Wu, incorporating a vocal sample of singing and poetry by Batalia's mother, Sarbjit. The film is based on Batalia's paintings and premiered at the Punjabi International Film Festival and International Film Festival of South Asia Toronto on May 17, 2014. iTunes proceeds from the film's featured track, Forever Gone, support the Maple Batalia Bursary for the Arts.

In addition to her performance and production work, Garib teaches Bhang 'n' Beats and Bollywood dance classes at the Cornerstone Studio in Toronto, Ontario, and is the owner of the Penticton School of Dance in Penticton, British Columbia.