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| Vision-Aid’s 2024 Annual Event - 'The Dancer’s Pledge' |
Press Release
07/11/2024
Vision-Aid’s 2024 Annual Event - "The Dancer’s Pledge" set to dazzle audiences on July 21st, 2024 at 4 PM US EST Vision-Aid’s annual dance productions have become a New England tradition of their own – a remarkable event that the entire community looks forward to with anticipation. This year’s show comes to audiences in a hybrid mode - allowing viewers to choose watching the show live in person at Littleton High School, Littleton, MA (or also virtually from the comfort of their homes) on Sunday, July 21st, 2024 at 4 PM US EST, allowing for the creative, dazzling flavor which have set these shows apart in a category of their own. For more details of the show, to buy tickets, or to become a sponsor, please visit www.VisionAid.org/event Following in the footsteps of 16 brilliant sold-out performances, Vision-Aid is delighted to present Guru Madurai R. Muralidaran’s " The Dancer’s Pledge – the saga of Sivagami" - another stellar, mega production, bringing to life a vibrant choreography inspiring one and all! The show will feature over 50 talented dancers and several dance teachers from New England, working under the guidance of renowned and award-winning dance choreographer and producer from India, Kalaimamani Madurai R. Muralidaran. Boston area dance teachers – Jeyanthi Ghatraju and Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy are the lead Artistic Directors for this year’s production. Dance Teachers Kavya Muralidharan, Kalaimangai Anbalgan, Shilpa Bhaskar Aravind, Dhanashree Madiwale-Karmarkar and senior dance mentors Roopa Modha and Priyanka Joshi are training the 50 plus performers in the production and assisting in various ways. The team has been hard at work, pulling together the brightest dance talent in the New England area – all of them graciously volunteering their time to support the cause. The other performers in the production include Senior dancers: Shwetha Choudhary, Hema Gopalan, Manuel Jenkin Jerome, Priyanka Joshi, Shruti Kulkarni, Roopa Modha, Shruthi Lakshmi Narayan, Pawanahamsa Shetty, Abinaya Shine, Aruna Patibandla, Archana Menon, Anusha Yedla, Viswapriya Soundhara Rajan Ensemble Group A dancers: Aarya Atale, Sarayu Gadam, Akshadha Ghantasala, Harini Jeyaraman, Kavya Krishnan, Archana Menon, Vaidehi Moorthy, Aditi Nair, Avantika Nair, Aruna Patibandla, Praksitha Rajasekaran, Varaliikaa Satheesh, Priscilla Srikanth, Sheethal Udupa, Charvi Veeramachaneni, Megha Veeramachaneni and Chetana Yella Ensemble Group B dancers: Vanshika Kukunoor, Aarna Mahadevan, Akshaya Mavalur, Naomi Varughese Ensemble Group C dancers: Aretha Aravind, Akshita Koganti, Maedha Naluvala, Sakthi Adhira Panchabakesan, Jhanavi Rajesh For more details of the show, to buy tickets, or to become a sponsor, please visit www.VisionAid.org/event In the words of the Founding Co-Producer of Vision-Aid productions, Jeyanthi Ghatraju, “A strong team can take any crazy vision and turn it into reality. – John Carmack The craziest and wisest visionaries of the world know that to make their dreams come true, they need a strong and loyal team to work with. When people combine their skills and motivate each other, any crazy vision becomes reasonable and possible. Please come watch the world premier of this marvelous Broadway style musical unfold with over 50 dancers and artists telling the compelling story of “The Dancer’ Pledge – the saga of Sivagami”, all under the meticulous guidance of the world-known director, Kalaimamani Madurai R. Muralidaran.” Vision-Aid Artistic Director Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy added “Over 40 dancers have brought their passion for dance in support of Vision-Aid’s mission to make an impact on the daily lives of so many visually impaired people throughout India. Kalaimamani Madurai R. Muralidaran’s music and special effects are guaranteed to bring this classic story to life. Please come be entertained, support the efforts of so many budding dancers and make a real difference in someone’s life.” Special thanks to the Vasudha Kudrimoti and Sanjay Kudrimoti of Fotu Duniya – The Picture World for the photo collage of the amazing dancers in this production Thanks also goes to Meyyappan Meyyappan of Kolam Media Creations for designing the eye-catching graphics and poster for this production. The Producer The concept and choreography for this production are by Madurai R Muralidaran of Chennai, India, a renowned dance choreographer, composer, and musician, who has won critical acclaim for his creations in Bharatanatyam. He has composed over 120 varnams, produced several dance dramas, composed Pushpanjalis, Alarippus, Jathiswarams, Mallaris, Varnams and Thillanas in all the 35 thalams and Jathiswarams in all 72 Melakartha ragas, unprecedented in the field of Bharatha Natyam. He has over 300 compositions to his credit. His productions in support of Vision-Aid, Krishna (2009), Justice of the Anklet (2010), Slaying of the Demons (2012), The Iconic Avatar (2016), Charmer, Warrior, Guide (2017), Golden Armor, Golden Heart (2018), Invincible Spear (2019), Shakthi – the Essence of the Empowered Woman (2020), and The Seven Selfless Sovereigns (2021), and the Jewel of Justice (2022), The Son of the Wind (2023) still has audiences in Boston talking! The Artistic Directors The Artistic Directors for this amazing production are: Jeyanthi Ghatraju & Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy Jeyanthi Ghatraju, a Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer with a mission to perform for charity, is the Founding Artistic Director of Vision-Aid productions since 2009. She offers online Certificate and Degree Programs in Performing Arts through her affiliation with Alagappa Performing Arts Academy through her dance school, Natyanjali, in Westford, MA, which celebrates its 30th Anniversary in 2024. She was awarded the coveted US Presidential Gold Service Award in 2013 and 2018 for her community service and is a recipient of Massachusetts Cultural Council grants in 2019 and 2020. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy, director of Abhinaya Natyashala in Framingham, MA, was initiated into the art form of Bharathanatyam by Smt. Revathi Kumar and currently pursues advanced training in dance and nattuvangam under Guru Madurai R. Muralidharan. In 1999, she co-founded MIT Natya, one of the first collegiate Indian classical dance organizations in the US. She has been actively involved in Vision-Aid productions since 2010 and has served as an Artistic Director since 2016. In 2022, she was an Assistant Director for the premiere of Guru Muralidharan’s production “Sangam Thamizh''. Senior Dancers and Mentors Kavya Muralidaran is an award-winning internationally acclaimed Bharathanatyam dancer known for her versatility, creativity, flawless technique, agility, and clarity in movement even at high speeds. Kavya is the daughter and disciple of legendary dancing couple Madurai R Muralidaran and Smt. Chithra Muralidaran. Since a young age, she has presented solo and group dances in India and around the world. Among her honors, Kavya is a graded Doordarshan artist and was adjudged as the Best Dancer for the HCL concert series from the Madras Music Academy. She’s also a recipient of numerous awards such as Yuva Kala Bharathi, Yuva Kala Vipanchee, Chennai Cultural academy excellence award, to name a few. Kavya is also a CCRT Scholarship holder from the Ministry of Culture New Delhi. Also a gifted choreographer, Kavya founded her own dance ensemble, VivRtti Dance Company, where she enjoys exploring contemporary abstractions in Bharatanatyam. Kavya is one of the co-founders of Gandiva and is the creative force for the project’s Dance and Choreography. Kalaimangai Anbalagan, Artistic Director of AmudhaSri Dance School in Shrewsbury, has been recognized as an exemplary member of the Indian dance community by former Governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Charlie Baker. She has been awarded the honorable dance title “Natya Prasanna Award”, “Excellence in Dance” by Power Global Awards, and awarded & honored by the Indian Society Of Worcester Organization. Roopa Modha is an intellectual property law attorney, TV host, author, lyricist, illustrator, journalist, international pageant queen, dancer and dance teacher. Roopa excels at many styles of dance - bharatanatyam, kuchipudi, odissi, semi-classical, ballet, tap, jazz, and Bollywood. A recipient of many awards from around the world for dance, law, and her work for girls’ education, she was honored by the White House as a Changemaker in 2017 and has been conferred titles like Wonder Woman (Malta House), Most Inspiring Woman of the Earth 2022, Most Phenomenal Woman of the World 2022, Shine of Indian Classical Dance, Nritya Medhini, and was a recipient of Vrindrani Award 2022. Priyanka Joshi is a passionate Bharatnatyam dancer with over 17 years of experience. She has grown as a dancer under the tutelage of Smt. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy and has been a part of Abhinaya Natyasala since 2015 as a student and now assistant teacher after her arangetram in 2019. Priyanka also currently works as a Research Associate at Sanofi in upstream bioprocessing at the Framingham, MA site. Shwetha Choudhary is a Solutions Architect working in Akamai. She has been training in Bharatnatyam since she was 7 years old. She grew as a dancer under the tutelage of Dr Roopashree Madhusudhan in Bangalore. After finishing her graduate studies, she began learning under the guidance of Daya Ravi from Maryland. She has participated in several Bhartanatyam competitions and performed for Zee Kannada on numerous occasions. Hema Gopalan has been in the Boston area for over 30+ years. Hema has built a community of friends, a successful career in corporate finance and raised her sons. In Nov 2022, she completed her Bharatnatyam arangetram, a lifelong dream and goal. She continues to learn dance. She is an educator, mentor and recently earned a degree in Law from Suffolk University. Manuel Jenkin Jerome is an optimisation scientist working at E ink. He has a passion for classical dance and martial arts in addition to science. He started learning Bhatatanatyam under Aparna Anoop Deshpande. He has been training under Abhinayaa Natarajan since 2019. He also learns ballet, Chinese classical jazz/folk dances and Kung Fu. Shruti Kulkarni is an accomplished Bharatanatyam and Kathak performing artist, with a rich legacy of 23 years in Indian classical dance. She has honed her skills under the tutelage of Guru Vidushi Kumudini Rao Gunavante and Vidushi Seema Kulkarni. A recipient of the prestigious Guru-Shishya Parampara scholarship for two consecutive years, Shruti has also achieved notable academic milestones. She completed the "Alankara Poorna" exams in Bharatanatyam from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and holds a "Visharada" in Kathak. Her talent and hard work have been recognized through numerous awards and competition victories. Currently, Shruti is working as a Network Engineer at Juniper Networks in Massachusetts. Shruthi Lakshmi Narayan is a passionate dancer with over 20 years of experience. She has trained under her mother Jayahsree Narayan, Gurus Kiran Subramaniam and Sandhya Kiran and has been learning from Guru Supriya Komandur currently. Shruthi completed her arangetram in 2008 and has performed at several prestigious dance festivals in India such as Natyanjalis, ICCR, Institute of World Culture, Dept. of Kannada and Culture to name a few. Shruthi lives in Watertown, Boston and has performed at various festivals in New England. She participated in “Silapathikaram- Jewel of Justice” dance production by Vision Aid in Boston in 2022. She has a background in architecture and product design and is currently working as a UX designer in Bedford. Pawanahamsa Shetty, an Engineer by profession and a dedicated Bharatanatyam dancer, began her journey into the captivating realm of classical dance at the age of 6 under the tutelage of Guru Smt. Vidya Kadam. Balancing her passion for Bharatanatyam with a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, she took a hiatus from dance to focus on her professional growth before rekindling her artistic pursuits with renewed dedication. For the last 2 years, she has been refining her training and her deep love for the art form at Triveni Dance School under the guidance of her guru, Smt. Neena Gulati. Abinaya Shine is a senior continuous improvement specialist at Pfizer. She started learning dance at the age of 4 and learnt from various gurus including her mother for over 15 years. She currently has resumed training under Guru. Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju and learnt from her for about 5 years in the past as well. Archana Menon is a dedicated and accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer with over two decades of experience learning and performing this classical art form. For the past five years, she has been refining her artistry at the Nritya Anjali School of Dance under the mentorship of her guru, Smt. Hema Iyengar. In addition to her commitment to dance, Archana is an urban planner with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, where she champions the integration of arts, culture and place making in urban planning and policy development. Aruna Patibandla is a working professional. For the last nine years she has been learning dance with Guru Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju. Aruna is very excited to be a part of the Vision-Aid production for the first time. Anusha Yedla has trained in Bharatanatyam for the past 18 years under Smt. Lakshmi Swaminathan, director of the Natananjali School of Dance. After completing her arangetram in 2015, Anusha went on to join her collegiate classical dance team, excelling in national competitions. Through these performances, they aimed to bring awareness to social issues such as the refugee crisis, gun violence, and personal themes like insecurity and the concept of antarabhava. Anusha's passion for dance has led her to teach students and continue learning from various teachers, including training in Kathak. Currently, she is pursuing graduate studies in Boston, MA. Viswapriya Soundhara Rajan is a Senior scientist at Novartis institute of biomedical research. Priya has been training in Bharatanatyam from the age of 5 under the tutoring of guru shri R. Vijay Madhavan. She gave her arangetram in 2010 in Chennai, TamilNadu and has been performing in various stages ever since. Apart from dance, she is also a violinist and an avid reader. The amazing dancers and performers in this show by Ensemble Group are - Ensemble Group A Aarya Atale is a rising sophomore at Lexington High School, Lexington. She has been learning dance for the past 7 years from Smt. Kalpana Balachundhar. Aarya is very passionate about dancing as well as swimming. Sarayu Gadam is a rising Sophomore at Braintree High School and currently learns Bharathanatyam from Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju. She has trained under Smt. Swathi Anala in the past. She is passionate about Carnatic music and enjoys reading, playing tennis, and participating in service activities. She is thrilled to participate in her 4th Vision-Aid production and support this noble cause. Akshadha Ghantasala, a freshman at Hopkinton school is very excited to join this Vision-Aid production. This will be her 3rd time participating in a Vision-Aid performance. She has been learning Bharatnatyam under Smt. Sripriya Moorthy for the past 7 years. Her interests include dance and reading. Harini Jeyaraman is learning dance from Guru Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan for 7 years. She is a rising 9th grader at Hopkinton School. She is excited to be part of a Vision-Aid production for the 5th time. Kavya Krishnan is a rising junior and is very excited to take part in a Vision-Aid production for the 4th year. She has been learning Bharatanatyam from Smt. Kalpana Balachundhar since 1st grade. She enjoys playing the piano, playing tennis, and participating in Robotics competitions. Vaidehi Natarajan is 17 years old and pursues the art of Bharathanatyam under the guidance of Smt. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy and Kum. Kavya Muralidharan. She is grateful to participate in her 11th Vision-Aid production under Guru Muralidaran. Aditi Nair is a rising junior at Westborough High School. She has been learning Bharatanatyam under the guidance of Guru Smt. Kalaimangai Anbalagan for the past 10 years and completed her Arangetram in 2023 of September. Bharatanatyam has always been Aditi’s passion and she is very excited to be a part of the Vision Aid Production for the first time. Avantika Nair is a rising freshman at Keefe Tech in Framingham. She has been learning Bharatnatyam under Smt. Sripriya Moorthy for the past 9 years. Dance is Avantika’s passion & she is thrilled to be part of Vision-Aid’s worthy cause for the third year. Praksitha Rajasekaran, a senior at Moses Brown School, has been learning dance from Smt. Thenu Raajan for 11 years. Praksitha enjoys pursuing science and healthcare where she now devotes her time to do research with a local professor; she also loves learning new languages and is proud of her first-place title in a national French contest. She is excited to be part of a Vision-Aid event for the 5th year in a row. Varaliikaa Satheesh, is a rising 9th grader excited to return to this Vision-Aid’s production. She has been learning Bharatanatyam since she was 4 years old and has participated in many performances and group competitions winning prizes under the tutelage of her guru Smt. Aishwariya Balasubramanian. Varaliikaa loves dancing but also has been learning Carnatic music since she was 6 years old along with violin and tennis. Priscilla Srikanth is a rising junior at Central Catholic High School and is excited to be part of her first Vision-Aid production. She has been learning bharatanatyam since 1st grade from Smt. Kalpana Balachundhar. Aside from bharatanatyam, she enjoys all other forms of Indian Classical and Non-Classical dances as well as singing. Sheethal Udupa is a rising sophomore learning Bharathanatyam from Smt. Sripriya Moorthy for the past 9 years. This will be her third Vision Aid performance and is very excited to perform in this production. She also enjoys learning carnatic music and playing badminton. Charvi Veeramachaneni is an incoming 10th grader at Acton Boxborough Regional High School. She has been learning Bharatanatyam from Guru Jeyanthi Ghatraju for 9 years. This is her first year doing Vision-Aid and she is very excited. Megha Veeramachaneni is an incoming 9th grader at Acton Boxborough Regional HS. She has been dancing for 9 years and learns from Guru Jeyanthi Ghatraju. She is very excited for her first year doing the Vision-Aid Production. Chetana Yella is a rising 9th grader at the Academy for Science and Design. She is greatly excited and looks forward to participating in her third Vision-Aid Production. She has learnt bharatanatyam since the age of 5 and currently trains under Shri Parshwanath S. Upadhye. Ensemble Group B Vanshika Kukunoor is currently entering 8th grade at Hopkinton Middle School. She has been learning Bharatanatyam from Smt. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy for 2.5 years, and previously learned Kuchipudi for a year. Vanshika enjoyed the 2023 Vision-Aid performance “Vayuputra: Son of the Wind - The Saga of Hanuman”, and is very excited to participate in her second Vision-Aid production. She loves creating art, reading books, swimming, and playing the violin. Aarna Mahadevan is a rising 7th grader at the Academy for Science and Design, and is currently learning Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of Smt. Aishwarya Balasubramanian. This is Aarna’s fourth year participating in the Vision Aid Productions, and she is very excited to continue this year! Along with Aarna’s great passion for Bharatanatyam, she enjoys hobbies such as playing badminton, playing the clarinet, and swimming. Akshaya Mavalur is an upcoming 8th grader and has been learning bharatanatyam from Smt. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy for close to 4 years. She will be part of the Vision Aid production for the first time and is eager to perform along with other extraordinary dancers. Aside from bharatanatyam, Akshaya is a field hockey player and enjoys other forms of dance. Naomi Varughese is a rising 9th grader at Acton Boxborough School in Acton. She has been learning Bharatnatyam under Smt. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy for the past 8 years. Naomi is very passionate about dancing , singing and playing badminton. Ensemble Group C Aretha Aravind is a 5th grader. She has been training Bharatanatyam under Guru Smt. Hema Iyengar for the past 5 years. Apart from dance Aretha is also a swimmer, singer and an avid reader. She is excited to be a part of Vision-Aid. Akshita Koganti is a rising 6th grader. She has been learning Bharatanatyam under Guru Smt. Aishwarya Balasubramanyam for the past 5 years and has performed in NEMA solo and group competitions, winning 2nd prize in the junior category and the special mention award in the solo category in 2023. She also performed at TAGB celebrations. Apart from dance, Akshita loves swimming and participated in the 2024 national swim competition. She enjoys chess, playing piano and violin, reading books, and learning Carnatic music. Akshita is thankful for the opportunity to be a part of Vision-Aid’s mission and production for the first time and looking forward to be part of many more to come. Maedha Naluvala is 9 years old and has been learning Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of her teacher Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju. She is passionate about dancing, reading and painting and very excited to be part of a Vision-Aid event for the second time. Sakthi Adhira Panchabakesan is an upcoming 8th grader who enjoys the art form of Bharatanatyam. She has been learning Bharatanatyam at Nritya Anjali School of Dance under the tutelage of her guru, Smt. Hema Iyengar since 2019. She is very passionate about dance, learning carnatic music, piano and reading books. Jhanavi Rajesh is 10yrs old and has been learning bharatnatyam from mother and guru Smt Manjula Rajesh for the past 5yrs. Jhanavi is a passionate dancer and has performed at many events in MA. She enjoys singing, swimming, pet lover and making friends. She is extremely thrilled to be part of this production for the 1st time which seeks to positively impact visually impaired people in India through Vision-Aid. Vision-Aid warmly invites sponsors and Advertisers Why Sponsor? · Enable the visually impaired to gain independence. https://visionaid.org/news/sarvasiddi-neelakantam-a-journey-of-determination-and-success/ · Educate the visually impaired to learn advanced skills. Meet our recent Digital Accessibility Testing graduates For more details of the show on July 21st, 2024, to buy tickets, or to become a sponsor, please visit www.VisionAid.org/event
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