Ajit Bhaskaran Das is a leading exponent of Bharat Natyam and Odissi in Malaysia. He has also received extensive formal training in contemporary dance. His performances, therefore, reflect a unique image of conscious artistry, transcending boundaries between old and new, East and West. Ajit mesmerized audiences in North America with his portrayal of Kothal in the Shakti dance ballet Shyama. Ajit is Artistic Director of Suvarna Dance Creations, a well known dance company in Malaysia.
Bragha Bessell is a consummate artist. She has been a senior student of Adyar K Lakshman and Kalanidhi Narayanan and is renowned for her abhinaya. She is the quintessential Bharata Natayam dancer, totally immersed in the art of learning and in the emotional aspects of the music she portrays.
She has often played the lead roles in her teachers' dance productions and also teaches at her guru's institute. With many awards to her credit, she has given numerous performances in India and abroad.
She has participated in dance festivals in Chennai and has performed extensively in India, the United States, Canada and throughout Europe. She has made TV appearances in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Japan and on AsiaNet.
She has also conducted many workshops and lecture demonstrations. Her classes in Abhinaya, interpretation and choreography are eagerly attended by senior dancers, teachers and students.
Shri C. V. Chandrasekhar has carved a special niche for himself in the dance scene in India. He is a multi-faceted personality: a Bharatanatyam dancer, dance teacher, choreographer, musician, music composer, scholar, academician and administrator. He recently retired as the Head of the Department of Music and Dance at the Faculty of Performing Arts of the M.S.University of Baroda, India. He is one of the many illustrious products of Kalakshetra - the internationally renowned academy of Fine Arts in Madras. He is one of the few male dancers of the country performing for the past four decades all over India and in many countries in Europe and Asia.
Harikrishna is a disciple and son of Guru Kalyanasundaram, a legendary dance guru of Bharata Natyam, Director, of the prestigious Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir, Bombay. Harikrishna hails from the family of traditional Natyacharyas (dance Teachers) representing the seventh generation of a legacy which has been imparting Bharatha Natyam in traditional Thanjavur style for the past 300 years. He has performed at major centers in India and has also toured the USA, and Canada.
Lauded for his choreographic excellence in the thanjvaur bani of the Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir, Harikrishna is a dynamic choreographer, composer and nattuvanar, who has acquired extensive knowledge and expertise through long years of training, research and performances. He has received rave reviews for his music, choreography and nattuvangam.
Mythili Prakash is a name to reckon with the in the world of Bharata Natyam. Hailed a child prodigy, Mythili Prakash began her career as a dance performer at the age of eight. Mythili has had her training under the renowned Bharata Natyam dancer/choreographer Viji Prakash. At the age of 25, Mythili has won recognition for her exquisite interpretation of Bharata Natyam.
A recipient of the Irvine Foundation Creation to Performance Grant in 2005, Mythili’s excellence has been acknowledged through her accolades from the premiere institutions of Music and Dance in India: The Rohini Krishnan Endowment Award, Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai 2006 and The Spirit of Youth “MGR Best Dancer Award”, given by The Music Academy, Chennai 2000.
Sudha – akka (as I lovingly call her) was my idol when I was a young aspiring dancer ( this was in the 1960’s!) growing up in Bombay. She still has that same verve and vitality and love for dance and I am really happy she is able to come and interact with my students. She was here in 2002, when my Guru Kalyansunderam was also here. Sudha Chandrashekar is artistic director of her institute Hindu Temple Rhythms in Detroit, Michigan. The most brilliant disciple of my late Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai., Sudha-akka is a treasure house of knowledge in dance. She has been teaching and performing in North America for almost 40 years, and I have requested her to teach some of the rare compositions that only she is the repository of. This camp will be for the intermediates and senior students of Shakti. Of course for the adavus and general work all the students dance together and then will divide to study with me and Sudha akka. She will teach and share with us the rare compositions of the Tanjore Bani of Mahalingam Pillai and his father, the highly decorated Bharat Vidhwan Kuppiah Pillai, which includes rare Kauthuvams, Swarajathis and Padams.