The Anubhava Dance Ensemble

Dr. Shriya Srinivasan

Founder & Artistic Director

Dr. Shriya Srinivasan has learnt Bharathanatyam from her Guru and mother Sujatha Srinivasan, Artistic Director of Shri Kalaa Mandir. She is known for her vibrant stage presence, emotive capacity and ability to blend sharp nritta with elegant grace. Blending the artistic traditions of Bharatanatyam with modern themes, Shriya has recently co-choreographed Vivarta: Transformations-an original work on environmental conservation, Manas: The Charioteer Within, and Samayam: A moment in Eternity. She co-founded and directs the Anubhava Dance Company, comprised of second-generation Indian-American Bharathanatyam dancers and musicians, and has toured over 18 cities with her new productions, winning great acclaim. An upcoming Carnatic vocalist, passionate about sanskrit and yoga, she brings a holistic approach to her art and recently performed in the prestigious Madras Music Academy’s Spirit of Youth Festival and HCL series. Shriya is currently a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Harvard University and aims to bring current social themes to life through the beauty and pristine form of the classical Indian arts.

Joshua George

Founder & Artistic Director

Joshua began his journey in the art of Bharathanatyam at the age of 4 under the tutelage of Sri Thomas Ottakkunnel. He was the youngest recipient of the title 'Nritha Rajan' (King of Dance) from the Federation of Kerala Associations in North America (FOKANA) in 2003. Hoping to further explore the art-form, he sought advanced training with Guru Smt. Poonam Mahesh, artistic director of Nrityanant Performing Arts, under whose guidance he became the first two-time winner of the prestigious Cleveland Thygaraja Aradhana dance competition. He co-founded the Anubhava Dance Company in 2015 with the hope of amplifying the voices of second-generation Indian-American artists and inspiring future generations to explore traditional-Indian art-forms. As a medical student, Joshua aims to blend the intersections of art, community engagement, and social-conscience through a holistic approach to health and well-being.

Shriya Srinivas

Principal Dancer

Shriya Srinivas has been under the tutelage of Guru Sridevi Ajai Thirumalai, Natyamani School of Dance since the age of 5. She performed her Arangetram in June 2012. Shriya was praised equally for both her Nritta and Abhinaya skills. The past 19 years with Guru Sridevi has instilled in Shriya an immense love for the Bharathanatyam dance form and she continues to learn with immense passion. Shriya has participated and won in local dance competitions in the New England area and at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival. Shriya has given many solo and duo performances and has participated in group productions from her dance school in the USA and in India. She has attended dance workshops conducted by eminent dance teachers such as Guru Bragha Bessell, Guru Rama Vaidyanathan, Guru Indira Kadambi, Gurus Roja Kannan and Priya Murle and the Natyashastra workshops by Sri Pappu Venugopala Rao. She has also learnt Carnatic Music from Guru Tara Bangalore for 13 years. Shriya is a Graphic Designer in the Boston area. She is very passionate about dance and with the blessings of her Guru, hopes to continue to explore its vast horizons in the years to come.

Sutikshna Veeravalli

Principal Dancer

Sutikshna Veeravalli is a Bharatanatyam dancer and Carnatic vocalist, from Chicago, IL. She has trained for over 15 years under her mother and dancer, Smt. Vanitha Veeravalli. She has been invited to perform at organizations such as Third Eye Dancers (Atlanta, GA), where her performance received special mention. In addition to venues in the US, Sutikshna has performed in the Music and Dance festival in Chennai and Bangalore for several years. Her performance was reviewed in “The Hindu” (February 2013). She has won multiple awards at the Cleveland Aradhana and Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam in both arts. Sutikshna was featured in several Tamil magazines, a “Kalai Malar” (Jaya TV) interview, and holds the title of “Yuva Kala Vipanchee” for youth excellence in classical dance and music. Sutikshna holds degrees in Neuroscience and English from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Swathi Jaishankar

Principal Dancer

Swathi Jaisankar is a Bharatanatyam Artist based in Boston. She has won numerous accolades and has given several notable performances in the US and abroad including solo margams during the Chennai Margazhi Festival, the World Government Summit in Dubai opening for the PM of India, the United Nations Headquarters, and the Indian High Commission in London. She has also been invited to perform at the Jacob’s Pillow Festival, Erasing Borders Festival, and Geeva Arts Festival. Her work has been featured in the Times of India and Gulf News. She is the disciple of Smt. Aishwarya Balasubramanian, with her initial training being from Smt. Suba Parmar & Sri. Swamimalai K. Suresh. Also, Swathi is a National YoungArts Winner, Cleveland Aradhana Finalist, NJ Natya Sangamam Winner, and has been awarded the title of “NJ Natya Shiromani”. As a Creative Director of Dance at IndianRaga, Swathi choreographed and performed in over 30 productions receiving millions of views online as well as global acclaim. She has also used this platform to bring attention to various social topics such as narrative medicine and LGBTQ+ awareness. Swathi currently works as a Product Analyst while continuing to pursue her passion for dance.

Nithya Kasibhatla

Principal Dancer

Nithya Kasibhatla, disciple of Guru Sujatha Srinivasan,

artistic director of Shri Kalaa Mandir, is a passionate young Bharatanatyam dancer from Cleveland, OH. She completed her arangetram in June 2016 and has performed and won

prizes at several cultural events in the US and India,

including the grand prize at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival, 2017, and first place at New Jersey Natya Sangamam, 2018. She received a BS in neuroscience and a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh, where she served as captain and advisor for Nrityamala, Pitt’s award-winning collegiate classical dance team. Her pursuit of Carnatic music under the tutelage of Smt. Aparna Devaguptapu and Sri Lalit Subramanian and deep interest in fine arts lend a unique grace to her dancing that sets her apart in quality and rendition.

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Bhavya Kumaran

Principal Dancer

Bhavya Kumaran is the disciple of her mother and Guru, Smt. Sowmya Kumaran, founder and artistic director of Nrithya Sangeeth, and is praised for her perfect form (arai-mandi), svelte movements, and sense of rhythm. She herself has choreographed and staged dance productions on various platforms and is a frequent performer in the US, Canada, and Margazhi season in Chennai. Bhavya is the recipient of a number of awards and accolades. She won the Sri Gutty Vasu Memorial prize at the Spirit of Youth dance festival (2022) conducted by the Madras Music Academy. She is the youngest winner of the Sri Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai award given to the best dancer in the Cleveland Aradhana dance competition (2012). She has been conferred the titles of Natya Chudar (2022), Yuva Kala Bharathi (2017), Taruni Kala Vipanchee (2014) by different India based premier dance organizations to highlight her contributions to the performing arts. Bhavya has a degree in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and currently works as a Product Manager in the data science field.

Sita Vakkalanka

Principal Dancer

Sita Vakkalanka began training under Guru Sujatha Srinivasan in 2008 and debuted in 2015. She has been a featured performer in multiple cultural festivals in the United States and India where she has won praise for her artistry. Sita has won many top prizes in international and national dance competitions, notably at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival, New Jersey Natya Sangam, Natya Festival in St. Louis, and National YoungArts. Sita also passionately pursues music as a Carnatic vocalist. She has been training under Guru Malladi Ravikumar of the Malladi Brothers since 2008 and has had the opportunity to perform in numerous festivals in the United States and India, a notable performance being for Nadaneerajanam in Tirumala. In addition to her artistic endeavors, Sita holds a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and a certificate in Global Health from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.