Bharatanatyam Dance

Bharatanatyam Dance

By Shijith and Parvathy Nambiar

Saturday, April 29, 2023 | 4:30 PM

Upper Merion Area Middle School

450 Keebler Rd
King of Prussia, PA 19406

About This Event

Shijith Nambiar is an internationally acclaimed performer, choreographer and Teacher of Bharatanatyam. A former faculty member at the world famous Kalakshetra foundation for the performing arts, Shijith has established an independent creative identity based on his artistic versatility. His many productions have been presented at both national and international stages where they have been appreciated by critics and the general public alike. His exceptional sense of music and rhythm exemplifies his choreographic skills with unique traditional innovations.Parvathy Menon is one of the most authentic and traditional representatives of the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam. Parvathy’s art embodies the highest qualities of restrain, aesthetic refinement and a technic that is both evocative and spiritual in its interpretation. Her profound and deeply emotive abhinaya has been appreciated by the learned and the cognoscenti.Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Menon, the Bharatanatyam Duo are the young ambassadors of this art form. Through their demonstrations at dance venues in both India and overseas, they continue to successfully awe viewers with the spiritual power of Bharatanatyam. Their selfless love and dedication towards their art inspires them to be unique and exemplary in their discipline. They are the recipients of The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademy, India, The Bharat Kala Rathna by Navaneetham Cultural Trust, The Obul Reddy Senior Dancers Award from Narada Gana sabha, Chennai among others.Shijith and Parvathy’s authority over their art attracts the attentions of all who witness them weave magic through movement.

Taniya Panda began her training in the Carnatic style of Indian classical music in Toronto, Canada from Smt. Vijayalakshmi Seenivasagam.  In her early teens, she moved to Chennai, India to take more intensive training from the acclaimed ‘Veena Vidushi’, Smt. Padmavathy Ananthagopalan. Taniya is also an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer having undergone training with Guru A. Lakshmanaswamy. She has performed solo, duet and group productions in India, Canada and the US both as a dancer and supporting vocalist.  

Taniya is currently continuing her vocal training with Kyvalya Chilla of Secunderabad. She is presently based in Marietta, Ga where she runs behind her two children. And when she isn’t singing or running in circles, she performs Bharatanatyam duets with her husband! 

Puneet Panda

With a classical, creative, and sincere approach to his craft, Puneet Panda is a vibrant performer with an effervescent joy for the inner realm of Bharatanatyam. He has performed extensively in India and the US. Critics have applauded his rare combination of energy and elegance while staying true to the tradition-bound purity of his Gurus, the Dhananjayans. Puneet is a deft nattuvanar and has accompanied many accomplished dancers. 

Puneet is a board certified ophthalmologist practicing in the Atlanta area. When he isn’t performing eye surgery, he performs Bharatanatyam with his wife!

Nagai Sri P. Sriram – MridangamNagai P. Sriram is one of the talented Mridangam artists (Indian Traditional drum) in the field of Indian classical dance and music. He had his initial training under Vidwan Sikkal Shri.R. Vadivel Pillai and continued with Needamangalam Shri. Kannappa Pillai ( Tavil Vidwan ). Later he had advanced training under Poraiyar Sri Venugopal Pillai popularly known as Tavil engineer, and also learned the mathematical intricacies of the Indian drum patterns from him. He has traveled around the world with many leading dancers and musicians like Dr. Padma Subramaniam and Chitra Visweswaran. He is the recipient of many awards like the Yuvakalabharathi and Kalaivalarmani (Gov’t of Tamil Nadu).

N Visveshwar – FluteN Visveshwar is an A-grade Carnatic flautist from Chennai who holds the distinction of being one of the youngest flautists to receive this grading from All India Radio. Since the age of nine, he has performed around 1,200 concerts at reputed sabhas and weddings in both the US and India over the past 17 years.Visveshwar is a disciple of his maternal grandfather, Singanallur Ramaraja, who was himself a disciple of the renowned Sangeetha Kalanidhi Palladam Sanjeev Rao. At the age of 14, Visveshwar was awarded the “Best Instrumentalist Prize” by The Madras Music Academy. He has also received several other titles and awards, including “Venu Gana Rathna”, “Venu Ilamamani”, “Vamshi Kaladhara”, and “Bala Kala Rathna”, in addition to being a recipient of an Indian government cultural scholarship.A Cornell graduate, Visveshwar currently works as a cloud product manager.