On the 25th of February 2024, Citsabha Collective presents the first edition of their signature performing arts festival titled “SVADHYAYA”. The term Svadhyaya is Sanksrit for Self-Study, a process that is truly at the heart of all art; and a searing prerequisite for pursuing excellence in a chosen field.SVADHYAYA 2024, supported by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, and NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) features some of Bengaluru’s finest performing artistes presenting their work, covering five different classical dance styles. The festival opens with an Odissi-Kuchipudi jugalbandi performance presented by the hosts Shubha and Srividya. This is followed by a Kathak-Bharatanrityam jugalbandi with Vidushis Rohini Prabhath and Medhavini Varakhedi. The evening concludes with a Bharatanatyam solo performance by Vidushi Shruti Gopal, Artistic Director, Upadhye School of Dance.
About the Founders
Srividya Angara is a Gold medalist, Master of Performing Arts – Kuchipudi from the University of Hyderabad and holds a B.Tech degree in Computer Science and Engineering from VNR Vignana Jyoti Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad. Her career in the software industry as an Applications and Senior Applications Engineer has seen her work with some of the top IT companies of the world. Her love for the Kuchipudi dance form however saw her take to performance and choreography as her path forward resulting in a journey of over thirty years with the dance style. A graded artiste with Doordarshan, and an empanelled artiste with SPICMACAY, Srividya is currently a student of renowned Kuchipudi guru from Chennai Guru Jaikishore Mosalikanti.
Shubha Nagarajan has been training in Odissi for over 15 years with various eminent Gurus in Bangalore. She is a graded artiste with Doordarshan and has performed at various prestigious dance festivals across the country as both an ensemble member and as a soloist. She has toured the USA along with Kuchipudi artiste and co-founder of Citsabha Collective, Smt. Srividya Angara Sinha as part of a jugalbandi collaboration called SAMAAGATI. Keen to promote classical dance, she works with various dance enthusiasts in the city to organize community studio showings, workshops, and herself conducts lecture demonstrations and performances at Government schools and gated communities as part of these efforts.
Artists
Kathak -Bharatanrityam | Jugalbandi
Vid. Medhavini Varakhedi
Medhavini Varakhedi is a young and promising BHARATANRITYAM dancer, disciple of internationally acclaimed Gurus Smt. Nirupama Rajendra and Sri T.D Rajendra at Abhinava Dance Company, Bengaluru. With over 15 years of training and performance, Medhavini who also holds a post-graduate degree in Bharatanatyam from the Bangalore University, works as faculty of Bharatanatyam and conducts sessions on specialized dance movements of the Natyashastra at Abhinava Dance Company.
Rohini and Medhavini bring their Kathak-Bharatanrityam jugalbandi to the SVADHYAYA Performing Arts Festival.
Vid. Rohini Prabhath
A dancer with over 17 years of performance behind her, Rohini has trained in the art for KATHAK for over 20 years under the guidance of renowned Kathak gurus Nirupama-Rajendra at their institute Abhinava Arts Centre, Bangalore. A graded artist with Doordarshan, she is a lead dance at the Abhinava Dance Company. She also works as a rehearsal conductor and faculty member at the school and has travelled extensively performing at prestigious national and international venues in USA, UK, Africa, and Australia to name a few
Bharatanatyam Solo
Vidushi Shruti Gopal
BHARATANATYAM artiste Shruti Gopal has carved a niche for herself in as much for her mastery over abhinaya as for her finesse in pure technique. She is the disciple of the legendary Guru Smt. Padmini Ramachandran and presently trains under acclaimed Bharatanatyam artiste and guru Shri Mavin Khoo. Shruti is the artistic director at Upadhye school of dance and is an integral part of
Punyah Dance Company. A recipient of the Kalavaahini Junior fellowship, and a graded artist of Doordarshan, she was conferred the title “Aarsha Kala Choodamani” by Swami Dayananda Saraswati at New Jersey, USA in 2012.
Shruti has performed extensively in India and abroad and hopes to spread the beauty of the Bharatanatyam dance form, through presentation and facilitating a dialogue around it.
Odissi – Kuchipudi | Jugalbandi
SHUBHA NAGARAJAN
SRIVIDYA ANGARA SINHA
Shubha and Srividya, the hosts of SVADHYAYA and co-founders of Citsabha Collective will be opening the festival with a piece from their jugalbandi titled SAMAAGATI. Featuring the tale of Meenakshi – Goddess of Madurai, the production delineates the journey of the Warrior-Queen from her birth to her subsequent consecration as the Divine Mother. This thirty-minute Odissi-Kuchipudi jugalbandi both reveres and revels in the Sacred Feminine and the extraordinary tale that surrounds it.
Press
