DANCERS
MRIDULA RAO
Faculty member, Abhinava School of Dance
Mridula has been intensively training in Bharatanatyam and Kathak under the guidance of Nirupama & Rajendra for 12 years. She presented her solo debut in the two dance forms in 2001 and 2002. Mridula has gained experience in 'Abhinaya' (the expressive element of Indian Dance) through the renowned Guru Kalanidhi Narayan from Chennai, India. She has learnt Pure Dance from Savithri Jagannath Rao at Kalakshetra, Chennai. She has honed her Kathak skills under Geetanjali Lal, Director, Kathak Kendra, National Academy of Dance, Delhi.
She is a graded performer for India's National Broadcaster. She has also given several performances for Indian Government & Private Television channels and has won solo dance competitions at the State & National levels. Her work experience includes educational work in various schools in India and special choreography sessions for NGOs.
She was invited by Chitralekha & Company UK in the year 2003 & 2004 for extensive performances & educational work where she conducted workshops in 30 South Asian & Britain schools. She is on the teaching faculty of Abhinava School of Dance., imparting Kathak training to young talent.
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UMALAKSHMI RAJASHEKARAN
Faculty member, Abhinava School of Dance
Uma has learnt Bharathanatyam and Kathak under Nirupama & Rajendra. She presented her solo debut in 2003. She has also undergone training sessions in Kathak techniques under Gitanjali Lal, Director of Kathak Kendra, National Academy of Dance, Delhi.
Uma's forte lies in the mobility of her facial expressions, innate grace and deep understanding of spacing in Choreography. As a Graded artist for India's National Broadcaster, she has presented several solo concerts. Apart from solo concerts in India, she has partnered with Monica Kunz, a European Classical dancer and Yoga teacher, to perform at Belgium, Switzerland & U.K.
Uma has extensively toured with ADC in India & abroad. Currently, she is an active performer, rehearsal conductor as well as the faculty member imparting Bharathanatyam training to young talents at Abhinava School of Dance
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SOWMYA SHANTHAKUMAR
Initiated to the dance world at a young age of 4, Sowmya has undergone intensive training in Bharathanatyam in the Kalakshetra style of dance. To gain stage & professional experience, Sowmya joined ADC in 2002 & successfully presented her solo debut in 2005.
She is a winner of several solo competitions at School & University levels. As an integral member of Abhinava Dance Company she has toured with the company at prestigious festivals including the Kathak Mahothsav (Lucknow), Season's Festival (Chennai), Yuva Dasara Celebrations (Mysore), Belur-Halebid Festivals (Karnataka), Bangalore Habba and a 16-city performance tour to USA in 2005.
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DEEPA BHASKAR
Deepa is an accomplished Stage, Television and Film Artist who has undergone intensive training in Kathak under Nirupama & Rajendra at Abhinava School of Dance. Deepa is one of the lead performers of ADC today. She combines her skills as an actress with her dancing talent to bring a unique quality to her performance. A recipient of the State Award for Films 'Putti' and 'Ranga SSLC' she has also won several awards for voice dubbing. Her dance experience with ADC includes participation in all productions of ADC, extensive dance tours across India & International tours to USA and UK.
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PRIYANKA CHANDRASHEKAR
Priyanka showcased great promise from the age of 5 when she was initiated into the world of dance.
She was initially trained by Guru Jamuna Krishnan New Delhi and successfully completed her arangetram in bharathanatyam at the age of 9.Priyanka, on moving to Bangalore she came under the guidance of Guru Smt Revathi Narasimhan(Director- Natya Niketan) and has been intensively training for the past 7 years.
Priyanka has been a winner of several prizes at state level competitons like Bala Pratibhe 2002, , Kalashree-2002 ,Aryabhatta award 2007, Kishore Prathibhe 2008 Prabhath Kalaviduru -2002,-04,-06,-07.
She is a TOP rank holder in the senior dance exam conducted by the Karnataka State in the year 2006 . She has won many accolades for her performance from gurus and critics .Some of the performances include,Nritya Upasana -05, Ankura festival -06,Chennai season festival -07, Kinikini Nrithyotsava-07.
She has started her training in Kathak at ADC school under the tutelage of Nirupama and Rajendra and has been a lead dancer in the productions of the company.
She has extensively travelled all over India participating in the shows of the company.
She is currently pursuing law at the Christ College,Bangalore.
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ROHINI S PRABHATH
Rohini comes from the cultured background of Harikatha vidwans( Professional Story Tellers) of
the illustrious Prabhath family -Bangalore, South India.
As a child, Rohini began training in Bharathanatyam under Smt.Nirupama Rajendra & later shifted focus to Kathak. She has undergone training in this North Indian Classical dance form for 6years under Nirupama & Rajendra at the ADC school Bangalore.
She has been a lead dancer in all the major productions of Abhinava Dance Company & performed in several National & International events along with the company.
Her dance experience includes active participation in both Traditional & Neo Traditional dance works of Abhinava.
She has extensively traveled with ADC performing in major festivals like-The Bangalore Habba,Virasat-Moodbidri, Mahamasthakabhisheka Shravanabelagola,Natyanjali festival-Perur,Karavali festival-Mangalore,Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan-Chennai ,World Science Congress at Chidambaram,Global summit of ICWAI-New Delhi,etc.
Rohini has to her credits several ad films & has shared her skills as a solo performer on several occasions at Christ College where she studies 2nd PUC in Arts.
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PRAMADA UPADHYA
Pramada is a qualified engineer in Electrical & Electronics from U.V.C.E College Bangalore.She comes from a family of artists of Yakshagana -the unique theatrical art form of the State of Karnataka.She has intensively studied "Badaguthittu" a style of Yakshagana & trained in south Indian classical music. She has given solo performances in Yakshagana under the guidance of her father Sri Mantapa Prabhakara Upadhya , an eminent artiste and a pioneer in Ekavyakti Yakshagana (solo characterization ) Pramada has been intensively practicing Kathak at ADC school under Nirupama and Rajendra at ADC & actively involved in all the productions & performances of the company.She has been a part of the company repertoire dancing at prestigious festivals locally & Nationally.
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PRATIBHA
Pratibha K has been practicing Bharatanatyam under the guidance of Nirupama & for over ten years . She was deeply drawn towards the graceful elements and energy of Kathak and started to train in kathak two years ago. Her keen interest and involvement in Abhinava's productions led her to becoming one of the core dancers in Abhinava's performing unit. She has not only participated in several major productions of Abhinava but also taken part in many national level competitions, thereby adding to her experience as a dancer. Her passion for arts led her to become the cultural head in her college, facilitating an exchange of cultural activities amongst youngsters. She aspires to give her dedicate full time to the dancing.
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NEHA NATH
Neha showed a passion for dance & music at a very young age. As a result of which she took to learning Bharathanatyam, which she pursued for 5 years. She learnt Hindustani Classical vocal from Pt.Parameshwar Hegde and her mother Mrs.Netra Nath . Inspired by a performance by Nirupama & Rajendra, Neha evinced an interest in Kathak. For the past seven years, she has been undergoing intensive training in Kathak under the tutelage of Nirupama & Rajendra at the ADC school. She is a regular performer in all the prestigious productions of Abhinava Dance Company. She has performed in Bengaluru Habba, Mahamasthabhisheka Shravanabelagola, World Science Congress at Chidambaram, Global Summit of ICWAI-New Delhi, Virasat-Moodbidri among others. As a solo performer she has successfully represented her college in many inter-college competitions. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate studies at Christ College, Bangalore.