IDIA invites you to a fantastic festival on August 20,21, & 22. You will be supporting our budding artists, watch advanced performers, and witness world-renowned Bharatanatyam artists in what promises to be a most enjoyable event for dance enthusiasts and art lovers. This year, we are bringing this event right into your homes in collaboration with tikkl. We hope you will join for all these exciting performances.

Event 1: Junior Showcase
Friday, August 20, 2021 8pm – 9pm PDT

IDIA prides itself in being a community-building event – this year we are proud to showcase five young adults from the Bay Area. We present Nikitha Sreekant, Priyanka Chary, Shruthi Aravindan, Urmila Vudali, and Vani Suresh– dedicated dancers, continuing to advance their learning and committed to keeping the art form as part of their lives. IDIA applauds and supports this young generation of Bay Area Dancers.

Event 2: Advanced Performers
Saturday, August 21, 2021 7pm – 8pm PDT

IDIA is excited to introduce this new segment for 2021. We are happy to share five performing artists from the United States who have shown dedication, growth, and advancement in their artistic journey. They have devoted a significant part of their professional life to choreography and performance. We present Aishwarya Venkat, Bhavya Kumaran, Shreya Iyer, Shriya Srinivasan, and Surabhi Bharadwaj.

Event 3: Margam Presentation – Sangita Vasudevan, Cupertino, CA
Saturday, August 21, 2021 8pm – 9pm PDT

Sangita Vasudevan, a senior disciple of Kalaimamani Guru Smt. Rhadha, is an accomplished dancer and has several solo performances to her credit. She is an “A” grade artiste of Indian Television and is the Artistic Director of NrityaGita Dance Academy based in Cupertino. She has received the Prof. TR Subrahmanyam award from the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana committee as well as the title “Sathya Abhinaya Sundaram” by Bharathanjali Trust for her remarkable talent in Abhinaya and as a graceful dancer.

Event 4: Margam Presentation – Karuna Sagari, Coimbatore, India
Sunday, August 22, 2021 6pm – 7pm PDT

Karuna Sagari Venkatachalam is a classical Bharatanatyam dancer trained at Kalakshetra and currently under the mentorship of Malavika Sarukkai. She holds a Master’s degree in South Asian Studies from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and a Master’s degree in Tamil from Annamalai University. The inheritor of a rich oral-matrilineal legacy in poetry and music, Karuna Sagari received rigorous, in-depth instruction in bhakti spiritualism, poetics, and performance from her grandmother, Smt. Swarna Somasundaram, an esteemed scholar of classical and medieval Tamil literature.

Karuna is an Aikya Awardee (2013) presented with the title, ‘Women defending our Culture’ by Global Adjustments. She is a recipient of the Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari Talent endowment award by the Narada Gana Sabha (Aug 2011). She is an ICCR Empanelled artist.

Parshwanath Upadhye

Event 5: Sutä, Birth of a father – Parshwanath Upadhye, Bangalore
Sunday, August 22, 2021 7pm – 8.30pm PDT

This premiere production is based on the story of Girija Kalyanam through the eyes of Himavan.
– Created especially for IDIA2021

Parshwanath Upadhye is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, and teacher. He is trained in the traditional Mysore style of Bharatanatyam. Along with his wife Shruti, Parshwanath choreographs, directs, produces, and presents his work at national and international venues under the banner of Upadhye School of Dance and Punyah Dance company, Bangalore, India. Parshwanath Upadhye has received several national awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar award in 2017. He is also an empanelled artist of the ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations).

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Even when we are physically apart, art has a way to bind us in spirit. Now more than ever is the time to support our communities. All donations will be channeled to artists in crisis due to COVID 19. We are deeply grateful for your support.