A unique and eminent artiste nationally and internationally respected, Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy is lauded as a living legend. Having completed over 70 years of dancing, Raghupathy is perhaps one of the rare Bharatanatyam dancers in India who has danced before visiting dignitaries to India since 1956, including a command performance for Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. An A top artiste of Doordarshan since 1976, her T.V. series Bharatanjali on Bharatanatyam was the first of its kind on the network in 1981 and 1989.
Raghupathy also had the privilege of performing at the Unites Nations Headquarters in New York on Human Rights Day in December 1981 on an invitation from the then Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. She has been awarded the unique honor of Senior Teaching Associate of Indian studies by the Colgate University, New York in December 1995. Raghupathy’s institution of fine arts, Shree Bharatalaya, was founded in 1970, and just celebrated its 50th anniversary.
This institution is perhaps the only one of its kind in the nation that has produced valuable resource material, such as the Laghu Bharatam, a guide on Indian dance. A few of the prestigious awards conferred on Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy include Padma Shri (1988), Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award (1984), Kalaimamani (1981).
Led by an all Female Creative and Executive team, When Eyes Speak is the first Indian Choreography Festival in San Francisco connecting audiences by way of outreach programs, curated festivals, panel discussions, and workshops to the world of Indian dance forms, portraying relevant themes with a unique combination of theater, mythology, and movement.
Preethi Ramaprasad is a multifaceted dancer and musician from the U.S., trained in Bharatanatyam with Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy (Shree Bharatalaya, Chennai) for 24 years. She has toured India, Europe, and the U.S. in solo and ensemble shows with accolades such as “All- Rounder Artist Yuva Kala Bharati”, “Guru Sanjukta Panigrahi Award”, Trinity Arts Festival Award, YoungArts Scholarship from the Oscar-nominated documentary “Rehearsing a Dream,” and the SAFEhouse Arts Lead Residency where she spearheaded the first When Eyes Speak. Passionate about teaching, Preethi has led workshops at venues like Juilliard and Columbia University. She is currently a doctoral student in Critical Dance Studies at UC Riverside. 
