Through the eyes of the Apsaras

Mythili Kumar (Artistic Director and Choreographer) is an accomplished artist who performed extensively in India before moving to the U.S. in 1978. She was honored by World Arts West with a Lifetime Achievement Award in June 2010 and received a “Sustained Achievement Award” by the Bay Area Isadora Duncan Award committee in March 2011. In 2015, she was awarded the Legacy Laureate Award from SVCreates, in Silicon Valley.

Rasika Kumar (Choreographer & Artistic Direction) – Rasika Kumar is a Bharatanatyam performer and choreographer, steeped in tradition but with contemporary sensibilities. She studied under her mother Mythili Kumar, Artistic Director of ADC, and other renowned teachers. Since 2005, Rasika has been an acclaimed soloist, principal dancer, and choreographer for all of ADC’s performance seasons, including Abhinaya Dance Company’s award winning production Vaanara Leela. She was awarded an ACSV Performing Arts Fellowship in 2008. Rasika’s collaboration with San Jose Taiko garnered an Isadora Duncan Award in 2011. She was awarded the Lakshmi Viswanathan Award from a dance festival in Chennai in 2014.

Prema Ramamurthy (Music Composition) – Dr. Prema Ramamurthy is the senior most disciple of the renowned maestro M. Balamurali Krishna. Prema has been giving performances regularly over the radio and on television and is a top A Grade artist forAll India Radio. She is a renowned Carnatic music soloist with performances in leading institutions and festivals all over the world and has won several awards for her music accomplishments. As a leading accompanist for dance performances, she has also composed for numerous dance productions nationally and internationally. Audiences and critics have unanimously acknowledged her incredible talent and expertise as a dance vocalist & composer. Her wonderful creativity & amazing imagination, has allowed dancers to explore newer vistas in their choreographies. Prema Ramamurthy has been associated with Mythili Kumar since the 1970s.

Company Dancers:

Anjana Dasu – Anjana has been learning Bharatanatyam under Mythili Kumar for over ten years and performed her Arangetram in 2005. Since then and all through her undergraduate years, she has performed in several Abhinaya productions and toured with the company all over the U.S. Additionally, she has danced several times with the company at the SF Ethnic Dance Festival. Critics have praised her as “exquisite” and “a nuanced dancer with a glowing stage presence.” She has choreographed group pieces for Yuva Bharati, Arjuna –A Warrior’s Tale, and Vaanara Leela. She continues to teach classes and mentors students towards their Arangetrams.

Pooja Sohoni – Pooja trained under Mythili Kumar and performed her arangetram in 2007. She participated in Abhinaya’s 30th anniversary series in 2010. In 2017, she returned to the Bay Area and has performed in productions such as Abhinaya’s ‘Gandhi’ in St. Louis, MO , & San Ramon, CA; ‘Apoorva Katha’ (2017); in the Drive East Festival in New York in 2018 and several performances in 2019.

Vaishali Ramachandran – Vaishali Ramachandran has been a student, performer, and teacher of Bharatanatyam for over 20 years. She began her training at the age of four in Mumbai, then trained for 16 years in Bengaluru with Guru Dr. Padmaja Suresh. She has performed in many major dance festivals in India and USA and is a resident of Fremont California, USA, where she continues to teach and perform. She is currently the Administrative Manager & Company dancer at Abhinaya.

Aishwarya Venkat – Aishwarya Venkat was trained in Bharatanatyam by Kalaimamani Thanjavur Rajalakshmi in India. She has a Diploma in Fine arts from Kalai Kaviri Institute, and has staged more than 25 solo performances in renowned institutions in India. She is a freelance performer and has performed with the company since 2015. She has been teaching for Abhinaya since 2016, and conducts several hours of weekly classes.

Susmitha Bhat – Susmitha started learning Bharatanatyam at the age of 8 under the guidance of Smt. Mythili Kumar. She participated in several Abhinaya performances over the years from 2005 to 2011, and in the Arclight’s Rep Theatre “Shakespeare on the Square” Festival in 2008. In college, she was part of the award winning Berkeley Natya group. She has been dancing with the company since graduation. She was recently featured among talented young dancers in the IDIA festival in August 2020. Since the fall of 2020, she has been teaching classes for Abhinaya.

Samyuktha Ramanan – Samyuktha will be graduating from high school in June 2021. She has been learning Bharatanatyam from Malavika Walia and Mythili Kumar at Abhinaya for the past 12 years. She performed her arangetram in 2019, and has participated in many Abhinaya productions such as I have a Dream and Si se Puede. She has been teaching classes for Abhinaya for over 2 years.

Musicians:

Asha Ramesh (Vocals) – Asha Ramesh is a renowned Carnatic vocalist, an experienced singer for classical dance, and an accomplished Hindustani bhajan singer. Asha received her training in India and has won several awards in her musical career. A brilliant composer, Asha composed the music for a documentary film “The Visitor” in 1997. Since 1993 she has composed the music for all of Abhinaya’s new productions, the most notable being for the productions Gandhi-the Mahatma (1995), The Ramayana (1997) and most recently – ‘Arjuna’ (2014). She has composed the music for concert-length productions for several dancers around the world. She received the Vijayalakshmi Award for best vocalist from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in 2010 and the title of Isai Arasi by Trinity Arts Festival of India, Chennai in 2013. Asha founded the Ragamalika School of music in 1992 and her students have won critical acclaim all over the USA.

Kalaiarasan Ramanathan (Violin & Music Producer) – Kalaiarasan Ramanathan is the son of the famous mridangist Late Prof. A.S. Ramanathan. He graduated from Annamalai University in Chidambaram, India and has over 25 years of experience accompanying senior dancers in India and abroad. A prolific award winning violinist, he has also played for several professsional DVD albums. He is a permanent staff member and performing artist of the renowned Bharata Kalanjali institute in Chennai. As one of the most popular and sought after violinist in the Bharatanatyam scene, he has traveled extensively around the world and has worked with several US based dance organizations. He established his own music producing studio Kalairam Studio, recording, mixing and editing several productions over the years.

Karthikeyan Ramanathan (Mridangam and Kanjira) – Karthikeyan Ramanathanhails from a musical family and underwent training from his father and guru Late A.S.Ramanathan. With 20 years of experience, he is a sought after artist working with many prominent dancers from India. He also has training in other percussion instruments for Carnatic music. Since 2007, he has won acclaim fo his mridangam accompaniment and has been awarded several titles from leading presenting organizations in Chennai, India.

Muthukumar (Flautist) – Muthukumar is a third generation musician whose father and grandfather were renowned percussionists. After his initial training he continued his tutelage under internationally famous flute maestro Dr. N. Ramani. He is a graded solo artist in Chennai’s All India Radio & Television channels. Since his recognition in 2000 as the best flute player by the prestigious Music Academy, Chennai, he has continued to garner awards. His singular achievement was receiving the Ramani Endowment Prize for the best solo flute concert in 2011. Besides traveling extensively accompanying dancers the world over, Muthukumar also teaches at Ramani’s Academy of Flute in Chennai.

Rohith Jayaraman (Sound Recording) – Rohith Jayaraman is a Indian Classical-Crossover vocalist, composer, arranger, and vocal percussionist steeped in the Carnatic (South Indian classical) tradition. He has trained with master musicians Asha Ramesh, Suguna Varadachari, and R. K. Shriram Kumar. He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in music therapy in 2016 from the renowned Berklee College of Music. As the assistant manager of the Berklee India Exchange since 2012, Jayaraman has performed with universally acclaimed and award winning artists such as A. R. Rahman and has been collaborating with world music artists. He has also collaboratively created several albums of original music.

Ravi Ranganathan (Lyrics) – Ravi Ranganathan is a Tamil linguist who has composed lyrics for several Bharatanatyam pieces since 2003. His compositions are greatly influenced by his research into Tamil literature and love of Carnatic music.