conference speakers
sonali skandan
Artistic Director, Jiva Performing Arts
Presentation & Discussion of New Works
"Lessons from my Mothers"
Session: New Worlds, New Experiences
Saturday, September 27
deepta seshadri
Presentation & Discussion of New Works
"Between Then and Now"
Session: Dancing the Archive, Feeling the Future
Saturday, September 27
sujatha srinivasan
Artistic Director, Shri Kalaa Mandir
Presentation & Discussion of New Works
"MANAS - The Charioteer Within"
Session: Dancing the Archive, Feeling the Future
Saturday, September 27
dr. anita vallabh
Affiliate Faculty, University of Hawaii
Panel Moderator
"Abhinaya in Translation: Expression Across Contexts"
Session: New Worlds, New Experiences
Saturday, September 27
navya maitri konda
Workshop
"Speaking Dance: Articulating Your Artistic Story"
Sunday, September 28
dr. lavanya rajagopalan
Executive Artistic Director, Silambam Houston
Workshop
"Grant Writing for the Arts"
Sunday, September 28
shivani joshi
Research Talk
"Khayal in Motion: Exploring Khayal Bandishes as Narrative Vehicles in Present-Day Kathak"
Session: Dancing the Archive, Feeling the Future
Saturday, September 27
keerthana venkatesh
BS Biomedical Engineering Cd.
Research Talk
"Embodied Geometry in Bharatanatyam: A Framework for 3D Human Motion Analysis"
Session: Embodied Inquiry
Saturday, September 27
chinmaya vedantam
MA Counseling Psychology
Research Talk
"Churning the Divine: Oral Epistemologies and the Sciences of Kalapam in Kuchipudi Tradition"
Session: Embodied Inquiry
Saturday, September 27
vaibu mohan
Associate Artistic Director,
Silambam Phoenix
Workshop
"Bridging Traditions: Expanding Bharatanatyam’s Reach through Artistic Collaboration"
Saturday, September 27
erik holmgren
Mass Cultural Council
Panelist
"The Curators' Compass: Navigating Art, Experience, and Impact"
Session: Sustaining the Spark
Saturday, September 27
dr. shekhar viswanathan
Indian Fine Arts Academy, San Diego
Panelist
"The Curators' Compass: Navigating Art, Experience, and Impact"
Session: Sustaining the Spark
Saturday, September 27
divya rajan
Poster
"Impact of Bharatanatyam Fractal Sequences on Neuronal Responses and Stress Reduction"
Saturday, September 27
manasa jayanthi
Artistic Director, Nrityanjali School of Dance | Founder, Manasa Arts LLC
Workshop
"Art and Agency: Financial Wellness for South Asian Dance Artist"
Sunday, September 28
shambhavi dandekar
Founder-Director - Shambhavi's International School of Kathak
Presentation & Discussion of New Works
"The Light Within... Hori With a New Direction"
Session: Dancing the Archive, Feeling the Future
Saturday, September 27
dr. kaustavi sarkar
Associate Professor of Dance,
UNC Charlotte
Research Talk
"Pedagogy of Focus: Diaspora in Motion"
Session: Embodied Inquiry
Saturday, September 27
dr. pranamya suri
Creative Director, Natyanjali Kuchipudi Dance School
Workshop
"Dance Anatomy and Injuries"
Sunday, September 28
shefali jain
Lecturer, Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies - Tufts University
Research Talk
"The Courtesan: A forgotten Lineage"
Session: Dancing the Archive, Feeling the Future
Saturday, September 27
anugraha sridhar
Workshop
"Karanas: Nāṭyaśāstra Pedagogy for Training the Dancing Body"
Sunday, September 28
kiran james
Executive Director, Kalapriya
Panel Moderator
"State of the Artist - Pathways to Professionalism"
Session: Sustaining the Spark
Saturday, September 27
dr. ranjini nair
Research Talk
"Stillness as strategy: Policing the Hips and the Politics of Angashuddhi in Indian Classical Dance"
Session: Embodied Inquiry
Saturday, September 27
dr. krithika swaminathan
Postdoctoral Scholar in Bioengineering, Stanford University
Research Talk
"Quantitative Dance Biomechanics to a Multi-Dimensional Sensory Experience"
Session: Embodied Inquiry
Saturday, September 27
shobhitha ravi
Artistic Director, Natyakriya
Poster
"Reimagining Bharatanatyam Pedagogy for Adult Students"
Saturday, September 27
prof. hari arthanari
President, MITHAS
Panel Moderator
"The Curators' Compass: Navigating Art, Experience, and Impact"
Session: Sustaining the Spark
Saturday, September 27
dr. bianca iannitti
Poster
"Preserving and Embodying the Kandappa–T. Balasaraswati Tradition"
Saturday, September 27
vinita venugopal
Poster
"The Kathak Dilution"
Saturday, September 27
varshini sudhakar
Poster
"Vivadanugatha Varnanam- Bharathanatyam's Representation of Women in Epics"
Saturday, September 27
sumati ram-mohan
Poster
"Smarana: Ritual Dance of the Tiruttani Temple"
Saturday, September 27
day 1:
session 2
New Worlds, New Experiences
Saturday, September 27
9:00 AM
Stories of immigration, travel, and navigating new worlds through dance.
day 1:
session 3
Dancing the Archive, Feeling the Future
Saturday, September 27
10:40 AM
Reimagining traditional repertoire in modern contexts.
day 1:
session 4
Embodied Inquiry
Saturday, September 27
1:00 PM
An exploration of movement through deep questioning ranging from injury prevention, to the haptic experience of dance.