Prema Natya Vidyalaya's beginnings:

Bharata-natyam, literally meaning the 'dance of India' is an ancient classical dance form. It combines bhava (emotion), raga (music), and talam (rhythym), for a complex and intriguing art that is fascinating to watch, and a joy to perform. I can clearly remember the first Bharata-natyam dance performance I watched as an impressionable 7-year old girl. I was sitting cross-legged in the front row in the upstairs cultural room of the Devasadhan Mandir in Detroit, Michigan. The famed Srimati Sudha Chandrashekar was there with some of her dance students. But who I remember the most from that day was a lady named Clara, a dancer with white skin like mine. She was dressed impeccably in a purple-blue dance outfit and she danced to Jagjit Singh's song dedicated to Srila Prabhupada. When she began dancing, my heart stopped. I was completely mesmerized. It felt like a reunion, a recognition of a dance that I was once immersed in. I thought of those dancers for days, the way they moved their painted feet to the enchanting music, their hands shaped in graceful mudras, their expressive faces telling stories. Soon after that performance, Clara started teaching at my school how to act out verses from the Bhagavad-Gita with mudras (hand gestures.) Her patience, joy, and expression made a deep impression on me. I then began formal weekly dance classes with Sudha Chandrashekar, affectionately called Sudha Aunty.

Thus began my love with Bharata-natyam. I continued with Sudha for four solid years. Those years gave me a strong foundation and instilled within me a deep dedication to the art. I had different teachers over the years, but found Srimati Hemavathi Sharma of Nritya School of Indian Dance in Kansas City when I was 20-years-old. With her I took my dance to a professional level and underwent rigorous training to present my arangetram, solo dance debut. Since moving to North Carolina, I had the gracious tutelage of Srimati Veena Argade and her school Nritya-bharati based in Greensboro, NC. Under her recommendation, I also had the privilege of studying under the esteemed dance masters, V.P. and Shanta Dhananjayans during their dance camp in Yogaville, Virginia. Their precise instructions and dedication to the Bharata-natyam art form were inspiring and a huge boost in my own dance practice.

After receiving requests from some students, I began teaching dance out of my home to a few young girls including my daughter. I then decided I wanted to open an official school and needed a special name for my dance school. Naming things gives them identity, shape and form.. After some thought, I chose to ask my diksa-guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Tripurari, to name my school. After consideration he named it

Prema (divine love) Natya (dance) Vidyalaya (place of learning), the Dance School of Divine Love. He chose it with this verse from the Caitanya-caritamrita in mind.

Radhikara prema-guru ami-shisya natya

Sada ama nana nritye nachaya udbhata

(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 4.124)

“My guru is Radharani,” Krishna says. “In loving affairs my guru is Radharani, so she always makes me dance according to her tune.”

He said that Prema Natya Vidyalaya is the dance school that Krishna attends. Thus with this auspiciousness my dance school began. I find it a most fitting name and it has given shape and meaning to my teaching. Dance for me is a connection to the Divine. It is my way of using my mind, body, emotions, and thoughts in seva (service). It is my way of showing this world a glimpse into the spiritual realm, where every word is a song, and every step is a dance. And if the words are songs and the steps are dances, then can we imagine what the singing and dancing of that place must be like?

In October of 2006, after receiving the blessings of my different Gurus (teachers), and with an official name, my dance school Prema Natya Vidyalaya performed it's first dance performance for the Govardhana-puja and Diwali celebrations at the New Goloka Temple in Hillsborough, NC. Since then, I have taught hundreds of dancers of all ages, in weekly classes, after school clubs, workshops and summer camps. Since 2009, Prema Natya Vidyalaya has held an annual dance recital showcasing a full repertoire program for friends and family. Most notably, the Ramayana dance drama, held in 2011 with a cast of 50 performers was met with great praise. I continue to create and choreograph dances that inspire and resonate with my students, making the art form accessible and pertinent to the generations of today. Teaching dance has taken it to a much deeper level for me. I now have to imbibe the very soul of a dancer, and with the patience, joy, and dedication of my previous teachers, pass this beautiful art to the dancers of tomorrow. It is a profound honor for me to teach Bharata-natyam to others.