Jyothsna Sainath

Jyothsna started learning Bharatanatyam in Bengaluru, India, at a young age and has been a student of renowned Gurus, namely the late Guru Padmini Ramachandran, Guru Radha Sridhar and the late Guru Narmada. It was under the loving tutelage of Guru Narmada, a student of Guru Tanjavoor Kittappa Pillai that Jyothsna evolved as a performer. She has also learned the Karanas from late Guru Sundari Santhanam, a senior student of the scholar Guru Dr. Padma Subramaniam. Jyothsna’s performance and choreography are informed by these various influences. Jyothsna is the choreographer for “Upatti – Coming to be”.

Sarayu Ramanan

Sarayu Ramanan is a Bharatanatyam dancer and Co-Treasurer of the Nitya Nritya Foundation. She began her training at a young age under her grandmother, Mrs. Sarasi Raj, and aunt, Mrs. Kalpalatha Thiagarajan, and later completed her arangetram under Guru Padma Rajagopal.

She has continued her practice across cities, studying with Guru Malathi Iyengar and currently training at Nitya Nritya Dance Company. Deeply committed to the art form, she remains active in performance and community initiatives supporting Indian classical dance.

⁠Anusha Manchi

Anusha is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer who has been practicing since the age of five under the guidance of Vidushi Ambale Rajeshwari. She holds a Vidhwat degree in Bharatanatyam and has performed in over 250 productions and cultural events across India, including a recent performance at Disney Anaheim for Light Within with Joya Kazi Entertainment. She also holds a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems and currently works in AI and analytics at Bank of Utah. Now based in Salt Lake City, she continues to pursue her passion for Indian classical dance and performance.

⁠Soundarya Jayaraman

Soundarya has been a student of Dr. Deepa Mahadevan since the age of eight and has been trained in the Dandayutha Pani Pillai style of dance. Under her tutelage, she has performed on many stages in the Bay Area, such as ISKON temple, Sanatana Dharma Kendra, etc. She has also competed in many solo as well as group competitions, such as Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana, OSAAT, etc. Additionally, Soundarya has participated in Tiruchitrambalam group productions and dance dramas directed by Madurai R. Muralidharan, such as Silapadikaram and Karna. In addition to dance, Soundarya has also received tutelage in Carnatic vocal music under Smt. Sangeetha Swaminathan, in Hindustani music under Smt. Sujatha Ghanekar, and in Veena under Sri Srikanth Chary. By day, Soundarya is employed as a lawyer.

⁠Srinidhi Sasidharan

Srinidhi Sasidharan is a Software Engineer by profession with a deep
passion for Bharatanatyam. Growing up watching her family and fellow
artists perform, she was inspired to pursue this beautiful classical
dance form. She began her formal training in 2020 under Guru Smt.
Anagha Anishkumar in Chennai. After moving to the United States, she
has continued her training under Dr. Jyothsna Sainath at Nitya Nritya
Academy, embracing every opportunity to learn, perform, and grow as a
Bharatanatyam artist.

⁠Vaishali Swaminathan

Vaishali Swaminathan began her training in Bharatanatyam in Chennai, where she studied the art form for over eight years. She continued performing during her undergraduate years as a member of her college dance troupe. After a hiatus, she returned to Bharatanatyam with a renewed interest in exploring and deepening her understanding of the art form. She currently continues her training under the guidance of Smt. Arpita Naiya, based in India.

Professionally, Vaishali is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Utah State University, where her work focuses on remote sensing and its applications in agriculture and environmental research.

Guest Dancers

Nidhi Sheshadri

Nidhi Sheshadri is a Bharatanatyam dancer trained in the Pandanallur style,
with over 22 years of dedicated training under Guru Shri P. Praveen Kumar,
Bengaluru and is currently residing in Seattle WA, USA. She began her journey at
the age of six and presented her Arangetram in 2012.

She is a recipient of the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy Scholarship
(Govt. of Karnataka) and a winner at several state and national competitions,
including:

  • 1st Prize – Gopaladasa Nyasa State Competition
  • 2nd Prize – Gurudev Academy of Fine Arts
  • 3rd Prize – Swanandashrama State Competition, Bengaluru

Nidhi has performed at prestigious festivals and platforms in India, such as:

  • Ramotsava, Hampi Utsava, Hoysalotsava, Nritya Niranjana (Tirupati),
  • Dhauli Kalinga Mahotsav
  • Indian Institute of World Culture
  • IIM Bangalore
  • ICCR’s Every Friday Cultural Evening Program

Internationally, she has performed at:

  • Bahrain – World Kannada & Culture Conference
  • France – Embassy of India Cultural Festivals
  • USA –
  • Seattle Theatre Group (Moore Theatre)
  • Northwest Folklife Festival
  • Indian Consulate Inauguration, Seattle
  • ACME Foundation & Chamber of Indian Performing Arts

She is the co-founder of Kalavrushti, a collective dedicated to presenting
Kannada compositions through music and dance, and has performed original
Margam choreographies at Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt and Horanadu Temple. She
is also training in Carnatic vocal music under Smt. Tejaswini Shashibhushan.
Nidhi holds a degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering and
previously worked at Bosch Global Software Technologies in India. She is now
a full-time performing artist.