YUVA is a collaborative choreography and performance platform for young and talented Indian classical artists (dance and music), curated and presented by Silambam Houston. YUVA strives to catalyze collaboration and creativity among young upcoming artists in the Indian classical arts and to encourage them to 'find their artistic voice'. YUVA Artists, selected from among a pool of applicants, collaborate to create new artistic works for presentation at the YUVA festival.
YUVA 2024 features 8 talented artists from across the US, and will take place on September 7, 2024.
Scroll down to learn more about the YUVA 2024 artist cohort!
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YUVA 2024 Artists
Click or hover on each tile to learn more about each of the talented artists of the YUVA 2024 cohort!
Advika Rajeev is a Bharatanatyam student and performer who has been training since the age of 4. She began learning from her mother and has been under the tutelage of Smt. Vani Iswara for the past 7 years. She has performed in both group and solo cultural programs and competitions around the United States and presented a margam at Guruvayur, India. Advika has participated in several of her guru’s productions including Natya Nivedanam, Natya Samarpanam and Pibare Rama Rasam, and she presented her arangetram with her sister in 2022. Advika is pursuing a dual degree in Computer Science and Cognitive Science at Rice University. She is very excited to grow and create with YUVA 2024.
Manaswini Avvari has been learning Kuchipudi from Guru Jyothi Lakkaraju at Natyalaya Kuchipudi School of Dance, since 2003 and learned Carnatic vocal music from Smt. Harini Krishnan Vikas. She has performed extensively across India and the US and has received her diploma in Kuchipudi and a Masters of Arts in Kuchipudi from the University of Silicon Andhra. Manaswini was a finalist in Dance for YoungArts and an IndianRaga Fellow where she created productions that have gone viral globally. Currently, Manaswini teaches Kuchipudi at Natyalaya, choreographs and produces various dance productions in an attempt to share her passion for the Indian classical arts where she brings a unique perspective to classical Indian dance, creatively presenting traditional forms in ways that resonate with mainstream audiences.
Rohitha Kaimal is a Bharatanayam dancer based in Dallas, TX. She is the disciple of Smt. Vani Iswara and has been training in Bharatanatyam for 20+ years. She has given several solo and group performances as part of Smt. Vani Iswara’s presentations and productions such as Pibare Rama Rasam, Radhe Radhe, Natya Charitam, Natya Drishti, Natya Samarpanam, and Natya Tarangam. Rohitha has performed at prestigious festivals across the US and India, such as the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and Saptami Foundation, to name a few. She has had the opportunity to work under eminent choreographers and artists, such as Padmabhushan Prof C V Chandrasekhar, Smt. Savithri Jagannatha Rao, Smt. Rhadha Ramanathan, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Smt. Anitha Guha, Smt. Narthaki Nataraj, and Sri Kishore Mosalikanti. She has performed in Bangalore, Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Chennai, Bombay, and Guruvayoor for various December-January Music and Dance festivals. In 2020, she performed for the first US-based Navapallava Young Dancers Festival, which brought together 8 different classical art forms of India. She also performed for the New Jersey Sri Guruvayoorappan Temple’s 2020 December-January Music and Dance Festival, which featured over 50 artists from across the US. Rohitha was also featured in an online series, Guru Dakshina, organized by the JG College of Performing Arts based in Ahmedabad, India. Rohitha has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology & Systems and a Master’s degree in Business Analytics from the University of Texas at Dallas. Currently, she is teaching Bharatanatyam at her Guru Smt. Vani Iswara’s institution, Ellora Center for Performing Arts in Dallas, TX. Rohitha is also trained in nattuvangam from her Guru Smt. Vani Iswara and has been invited to accompany on the nattuvangam on various occasions. Recently, Rohitha was invited to accompany NY-based Bharatanatyam dancer Srinidhi Raghavan on the nattuvangam for her thematic show, Samkhya, at The Bhavan in London, UK. She was also invited to premiere her choreography work based on His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Muralidharan Swamiji's composition for Spirit of Marghazhi’s first youth festival.
Krisha Rath is a 16-year-old Odissi dancer from Houston, who has been training at the Kalaangan School of Odissi Dance under the guidance of Smt. Supradipta Datta for 12 years. She has performed in various festivals and competitions throughout the years — some of her most notable performances include “The Khamaj Connection”, a piece she co-choreographed and recorded with her older sister, Divya Rath, for the IndianRaga YouTube channel in 2022, and her solo performance in the 2023 GKCMORC International Odissi Dance Festival at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneshwar.
Maya Rau-Murthy is a Bharatanatyam, Konnakol, rap, Mridangam artist, educator, and co-director of Natya Anubhava. She choreographs, composes, performs at shows globally, including in Seva Sadan, National Gallery of Art, UN, Drive East, SafeHouseArts, NYC Hall, Hammond Museum, Duke Center. She has directed acclaimed productions on traditional “Tales of Hanuman” to contemporary “Ardhanareeshwara: Shattering the Construct of Gender”, “Dreams of the Other”, and “Janani: Ode to Mother Earth”.
Siddarth Giridharan is a 11th grader at the Early College at Guilford in Greensboro, NC. He is passionate about both playing and teaching the Carnatic violin and teaching music. He started learning with Guru Sadashiv Bhat and is currently under the tutelage of Abhishek Balakrishnan. Sid has been playing the violin for over 10 years now and has been fortunate to accompany his peer musicians in the Triad and Triangle areas. He has also won awards at several Carnatic music competitions.
Mamatha Muralidharan is an Indian Classical Dancer from Houston, Texas. She has learned Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi since the age of 4 and continues to learn, perform and teach performing arts. Born in India and brought up in Oman, she started her dance journey under the tutelage of Kalamandalam Jyothi Lakshmi. She is also trained under Kalamandalam Husna Bhanu, Guru Smt Anupama Mohan and Smt Raji Soundararajan. Mamatha is a nationally recognized classical dancer in India, as a recipient of the National Bal Shree award-2010 for the category of creative performance. She has also participated in numerous competitions and won titles across Kerala, India during both her school and college years. She is furthering her passion in Indian Classical dance as a performer in the US since 2019. She was also featured in Washington State University's news following her bharatanatyam performances during multiple cultural events. She is currently involved with Silambam Houston, under the guidance of Lavanya Rajagopalan, training to perform in Miller Outdoor Theater, this Summer. She works in the oil and gas industry as a Mechanical Engineer after completing her Masters in Mechanical Engineering.
Bharatanatyam, Hindustani music
CREDITS
Concept, Direction, Choreography:
YUVA 2024 Cohort
Lighting and Stage Management:
Anjali Kadur
Rehearsal Space:
Silambam Houston Cultural Arts Center
Performance Space:
Kaplan Theater at the ERJCC
Facilitated and Presented by:
Silambam Houston
Previous editions of YUVA
click on each poster to view highlights
