Musicians
Just like in the palaces and temples of ancient India, the live music that accompanies the dancer in bharatanatyam performances helps bring the dances to life and provides depth and richness to the performance. For Kalyani’s arangetram, Arathi School of Dance has arranged for musicians to come from India to accompany her on her ascension to the stage.
Kalashri Asha Gopal- Nattuvangam
As guru of Arathi School of Dance, Asha plays the nattuvangam to set the beat for the musicians and the dancer. Hers is a position similar to the conductor of an orchestra. As well, she calls out the sullokattu, which are the calls that challenge the dancer with sets of rhythms and patterns that the guru wants the dancer to perform.
More about Asha on our page about The Guru.
Smt. Deepthi Srinath - Vocals
Deepthi hails from a musical family, her mother Kalashri Vidushi P Ramaa is a well-known carnatic classical vocalist. She had her initial training under Vidushi P Indira and advanced training under Professor Nagamani Srinath. She has a Master of Arts degree in Music, and is a recipient of federal government scholarship in music. She performs regularly for radio and TV in India. She has provided live orchestra for Bharata Natya classical dancers, and composed music for dance ballets. She has many audio cassettes and CDs to her credit.
Sri U. Padmanaban - Mridangam
Padmanaban studied mridangam and won a Gold Medal for his Diploma at the Government Music College, Chennai. He further took advanced training under the famous Padmabhushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr T V Goplalkrishnan. He has toured South Africa, Bahrain, Europe, Far East and Sri Lanka, accompanying well-known musicians, including his guru T V Goplalakrishnan. He has also given orchestra accompaniments for Indian classical dance recitals of well-known dancers, Divyasena, Swamimalai SK Suresh, Meena Raghavan, Srilatha Vinoth and others. He performs regularly for the national Doordarshan TV and All India Radio.
Sri R. Raghunandan - Flute
Raghunandan started learning flute at an early age, inspired by his uncle Raghavendra. Later he learnt under B G Srinivasa, a disciple of Padmashree T R Mahalingam, and under Ravichandra Kulur for additional playing techniques. Presently, he learns under Sangeeta Kalaratna S Shankar.
He is a solo performer, also plays in fusion, jazz and international bands. He is a regular studio artist, and has played for commercials, movies and tele-serials, working with leading music directors of the film industry. He has composed music for documentary films, jingles, tv-ads, tele-serials, fusion bands and dance productions; the compositions are set to tune of popular Kannada poetry by eminent poets. He provides orchestra accompaniments to leading classical dancers, and has toured worldwide extensively.
Sri Pradyumna Sorba - Rhythm Pads
Pradyumna ventured into the field of percussion music at the tender age of 4. Born into a family of successful musicians, rhythm comes to him naturally. He earnestly learned playing the Tabla under the tutelage of the great Tabla Maestro - ‘Karnataka Kalashri’, Pt. Ravindra Yavagal. He has provided percussion instrument accompaniment to eminent musicians and dancers. His enchanting performance has been presented in a number of music albums. He performs regularly on television programs and music festivals across India, USA, Singapore, UAE, Qatar, and several other countries. A tabla artist for more than 20 years, Pradyumna, today is one of the most accomplished and sought after musicians in India
Smt. Nisha Talanki - Nattuvangam Assistant
Nisha Talanki is a senior performer and assistant teacher of the Arathi School of Dance. Nisha performed her Bharatanatyam Arangetram in 2008 and was the 124th graduate of the Arathi School. Following her Arangetram, Nisha has assisted in teaching dance classes in Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert, Tucson, and Las Vegas. She has performed as a solo artist at various dance festivals in Phoenix and Tucson, Los Angeles, and San Jose. She has also performed as a solo artist at the Vasundharotsava held in Mysore, and at the International Dance Festival held by the World Dance Alliance in Bangalore. Nisha has performed in multiple Arathi School productions. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona, earning a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Physiology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Translation and Interpretation. She is currently pursuing a career in nursing and is working in the emergency department of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.