Performance 1: Junior Showcase (Virtual)
Friday, August 19, 2022 7pm – 8pm 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 Srividhya Chandramouleeswaran, Svara Deshmukh, Swati Pramod Hegde, Saahitya Sridhar, Divya Shridar– 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.

Performance 2: Junior Solo Showcase (Virtual)
Friday, August 19, 2022 8pm – 8.30pm PDT

IDIA is excited to introduce this new segment for 2022. We are happy to share a performance of one Junior artist who has shown growth, rigor, and advancement in Bharatanatyam. This year we are looking forward to a performance by Vivek Ramanan.

Performance 3: Advanced Performers (Virtual)
Saturday, August 20, 2022 6pm – 7pm PDT

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 Deepa Mahadevan, Nitya Narasimhan, Roopa Anand, Sophia Salingaros, Surya Ravi.

Performance 4: Margam- Meenakshi Srinivasan (Virtual)
Saturday, August 20, 2022 7pm – 8.30pm PDT

Meenakshi is a Bharathanatyam artist residing in Chennai . She has been featured in leading dance festivals in India and other countries. For her contribution to the art form, she has been recognised by several organizations with awards and titles . From the Sangeet Natak Akademi , New Delhi, she was awarded the Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Bharatanatyam for the year 2011. Meenakshi is an empaneled member of the ICCR and she is graded as a “Top Artist” with the Doordharshan, the national television network. She is also an accomplished Architect running her own Architectural practice called Calm Studio.

Performance 5: Migrations – Nava Dance Theatre (In-Person)
Sunday, August 21, 2022 4pm – 5pm PDT

Nava Dance Theatre, currently under the direction of Dr. Nadhi Thekkek, is a bharatanatyam dance company based in San Francisco, California, which uses the south Indian dance form as a medium for artistic reflection and discovery. Moreover, the founders of Nava believe that bharatanatyam, while culturally-specific, is a modern medium that can be used to discover and understand both historic and contemporary themes.

In Migrations, Nava Dance Theatre examines homeland through personal accounts of South Asian migration stories. Inspired by the lived experience of South Asians who migrated to the US since the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, Nadhi and her collaborators ask if it is possible to fully separate ourselves from what we remember as home, or if that is what we want in the first place. The work questions the cost of the so-called American Dream at a time when stability feels further than ever.

Performance 6: Margam by Bhavajan Kumar (In-Person)
Sunday, August 21, 2022 5.30pm – 7pm PDT

Bhavajan Kumar is a sensitive Bharatanatyam dancer. Born in Canada, his passion for dance took him to India to pursue dance further. Blessed with a captivating stage presence, precision in movement and a deep devotion to the art form, he is a natural artiste with an innate understanding of the art he practices. Bhavajan Kumar has worked and learnt with celebrated Bharatanatyam exponents like Padmasri Leela Samson & Jyotsna Narayanan under whom he has matured. He also trained in nattuvangam and vocal music from Bhagavathula Seetharama Sharma. Bhavajan not only absorbs and imbibes the subtle nuances of his gurus’ distinctive styles, but is also keen on presenting the art with sincerity, keeping intact it’s spiritual essence. He is a recipient of many prestigious awards and has performed in many of the esteemed dance festivals in India, Europe, United States & Canada.