Faculty and Staff

Dr. Lavanya Rajagopalan is a dancer/choreographer, arts educator/ administrator, and scientist/science communicator who has resided in the Houston area since 2001. Dr. Rajagopalan trained in Bharatanatyam with the legendary Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy, and in vocal Indian classical music and in nattuvangam. She has performed extensively and to critical acclaim, both individually and in collaboration with other artistes, throughout India and the US. She directed and performed in the US revival tour of the highly acclaimed dance theater production ‘Krishnam Vande Jagatgurum’, in 2007, and, in 2020, scripted, directed and performed in the digital reworking of the iconic ‘Raas’ choreography from that production, with a global cast of performers.

Dr. Rajagopalan is the founder and Executive Artistic Director of Silambam Houston, Houston's premiere Indian classical arts non-profit. She has choreographed and directed several dance performances/productions for the Silambam Houston Dance Company. Among these are Ritu – The Changing Moods of Nature (a collaborative Bharatanatyam/Ballet dance production); Krishna...?, Shambhavam, Maya – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (an Indian classical dance theater adaptation of the Shakespeare play), Kāvya: Poetry in Motion, and Chakravyuh: Battle Against the Odds. She oversees and develops Silambam Houston’s arts education programs; these include performances, workshops and residencies for K-12 and community settings, including ‘Dance Across India’, ‘Storytime with Silambam’, and ‘Dancing into STEM’.

Among the honors she has received is the distinguished 'Acharya Kala Bharathi' award from Bharat Kalachar in Chennai, recognizing her contributions to the field of Bharatanatyam as a Guru. She was also awarded the 'Woman's Achievement Award' by Bharathi Kalai Manram in 2022 in recognition of her service to the Indian diaspora in the Houston area.

Dr. Rajagopalan holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Following a decade- long, federally-funded, academic research career, she now focuses her scientific skills and energy on science communication and education, including through arts integration. She has taught at the elementary, undergraduate, graduate, and medical school levels, has extensive experience in scientific writing, editing, and content review, and develops standardized content for the MCAT. Her specific areas of research expertise range from biophysical and structural biology to biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology.

Krithika Mohankumar had her initial training and performed her Arangetram (solo dance debut) under Guru Balameera Chandra Grimes at Nataraja Natya Niketan, Chennai, India. Thereafter, she continued her dance training under Guru Saraswati Sundaresan, in the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam, and performed extensively both in solo performances and group productions.

Krithika has been associated with Silambam since 2005, and has taught on the Silambam faculty since 2009. She is extremely involved in all of Silambam’s activities, as a parent, faculty member, and creative consultant. She currently manages all of Silambam's Academy programs, and directs the Bharatanatyam program.

Kalpana Subbarao is proficient in two styles of Indian Classical Dance - Bharatanatyam and Kathak. She began her dance training in Bharatanatyam with Guru Rema Shrikant at the age of 9, and later with Guru Nandini Easwer, under whom she completed her Arangetram. She was the 2nd rank holder in the Junior, and 1st rank holder in the Senior and Vidhwat exams of the Karnataka State Board. She was also the recipient of a 3-year scholarship from the Karnataka Sangeet Natak Academy. Kalpana later took up Kathak and currently continues advanced training under Guru Pandit Sontosh Kumar. She performs extensively in the Houston area and around the world.

In 2015, Kalpana moved back to Houston, where she had previously lived for several years before moving east for a while. She joined the Silambam faculty in October 2016. Kalpana is passionate about classical dance and brings an exciting new dimension to Silambam in the form of the unique Indian classical dance form Kathak.

Kalpana holds an Engineering degree, as well as a Masters in Computer Science from UH. She has two grown daughters and lives with her husband in the Energy Corridor area.

Supradipta has built a reputation as being an outstanding dancer with a natural flair for choreography. Supradipta was born in Kolkata India, and started learning Classical Indian dances at a tender age of 3, She trained in both in Bharat Natyam and Odissi, and has the rare distinction of completing her dance graduation "Sangeet Kriya Visharad" in both Bharat Natyam and Oddissi with top honors.

Supradipta is one of the most senior students of Nritya Shiromoni Guru Smt. Aloka Kanungo. Over the years she has been mentored by Padma Bibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She has also blessed by the guidance of Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, Smt. Sujata Mohapatra and Guru Monoranjan Pradhan.

Supradipta had been very active in the dance circuit in India. She has performed in prestigious dance festivals including the Khajuraho Dance Festival, the Konarak Dance Festival, the Puri Beach Festival and the First World Odissi Conference in Washington D.C. Supradipta was a regular artist at the national and network television of India. Her Odissi Dance was featured by the BBC in their documentary "In Search of Hinduism". She has worked in collaborations and other legendary dancers and musicians like Guru Smt. Kalavati Devi (Maha Raas) and Kanniks Kannikeswaran (Chitram).

Supradipta holds an MBA (Finance) from the Bauer School of Business Management Supradipta started Kalaangan, a dance school for Odissi in Houston. Kalaangan was the first school in the Greater Houston area which focussed solely on the practice and performance of Odissi. Kalaangan strives to educate our community about this beautiful art form and to help develop a passion for this style amongst the younger generation. Silambam is proud to partner with Kalaangan, and with Supradipta, in our shared mission to promote Indian arts.

Currently, Supradipta is also a faculty at Kala Bhavan, the center for visual and performing arts at the Houston Durga Bari Society.

Kalaimamani Priya Murle is a guiding figure and mentor for the faculty and students of Silambam Houston, and teaches advanced techniques and concepts to selected students. Smt. Priya Murle has been in the field of Bharatanatyam for over 4 decades. A disciple of the legend Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy, Priya is multifaceted. An MPhil in philosophy with research in the Rasa theory, Priya has performed the world over and received several awards, including the Tamil Nade State Award, Kalaimamani.

Priya, a performer, teacher, and choreographer, is the Artistic Director of Shri Silambam Academy of Fine Arts. Along with Shreya Nagarajan Singh, Priya has started an initiative - the Parivartan Research Initiative - that provides annual short grants for research scholars. Priya is actively involved in outreach programmes that make classical dance accessible to all. She is currently the Vice President of Abhai.

Nithya Sherman had her Bharatanatyam arangetram under the tutelage of Guru. Smt. Indra Rajan in the Pandanallur Bani. She later trained with Guru Smt. Sikkil Vasanthakumari in the Kalakshetra Bani. She holds an MBA in Finance and HR, and is also a Montessori-trained teacher. She has worked in the field of school administration in India and Singapore. She has a deep passion for dance and has performed in various Sabhas and dance festivals in India. She moved to Houston in 2017, and continues to pursue her passion for dance in association with Silambam.

Naga Srinidhi Kuruvada has been learning Carnatic Mridangam from Gurus Vidwan Shri M Vasudeva Rao, Vidwan Shri S V Balakrishna and Vidwan Shri Mannargudi A Easwaran, as well as Vocal, since the age of five. He has performed extensively in India and the USA and won several awards in competitions held at the Madras Music Academy, Chennai, and at the Nada Brahma Sangeeta Sabha, Mysore. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor's degree at the University of Houston, and plays the cello in addition to the mridangam.

Karun Salvady is a versatile South Indian Classical (Carnatic) percussionist from Houston, TX. He began his foundations of learning mridangam from Shri Shankar Ayyar and has been receiving advanced training from the esteemed maestro Sri Trichy B. Harikumar since 2011. After completing his arangetram in 2012, Karun has performed in over 350+ concert performances with eminent musicians across North America and throughout South India. He has also been a regular feature in many leading sabhas during the annual December Margazhi Music Season in Chennai for the past six years. Karun is a Neuroscience graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. After finishing college, Karun relocated to India to pursue music and conduct research on the intersection of music and the brain, but his plans got cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Music, Mind and Brain at the University of London, Goldsmiths. He teaches Mridangam and Konnakol at Silambam.

Anjali Kadur began her dance journey in 2009 under the tutelage of Dr. Lavanya Rajagopalan at Silambam Houston. She is currently a sophomore at the University of Texas Dallas. Anjali completed her arangetram in 2019 and is a member of the Silambam Houston Dance Company. She was a student instructor from 2018-2022 prior to joining the Silambam faculty. She continues to teach Beginner through Advanced classes.

Ramya Dharmendran began her dance journey at the age of 12, and joined Silambam to train under Dr. Lavanya Rajagopalan in 2017. She currently pursues advanced training under Kalaimamani Priya Murle and Dr. Lavanya Rajagopalan. She had her Ranga Pravesham in 2019 and is an active Silambam Houston Dance Company member. Ramya was a student instructor at Silambam from 2020-2023 prior to joining the faculty. She is currently a student at the University of Houston Clear Lake.

Dipika Pathak began her Bharatanatyam training in the Kalakshetra style under Kalaguru Dimple Deputy Shah at Kalashree Institution, Surat, Gujarat, India. She holds a B.A in Bharathanatyam from Gujarat state. She has performed at the National level in Gujarat, and has also performed in many dance festivals in all over India. She taught Bhatratanatyam for 8 years in India before moving to Texas in 2018, and is excited to continue her enthusiasm and love for Indian Classical dance with Silambam Houston. Dipika holds a Post-baccalaureate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Chicago, IL and works as a Nutritionist.