Aparna Satheesan
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Aparna Satheesan, Artistic Director of Samyoga School of Dance, is an internationally acclaimed talented dancer who trained in different classical Indian dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattom, Kathakali, Ottam Thullal, Kerala Nadanam from eminent legendary dancers like Padmabushan Dhananjayans(Alumni of Kalakshestra and direct disciple of Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale), Smt. Vyjayanthi Kashi, Regatta Girija Chandran, Nelliyodu Vasudevan Namboothiri. She has been trained in this ... view more »

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About My Work:

Aparna has premiered her own first dance production “Krishna” at The Sangam, organized by Elli Lilly Corporation, Indianapolis, IN USA, where she played the main role as Krishna. Her notable dance productions are Krishna, Shivoham, Sri Rama Charitham and so on. She performed the lead role as Rama in the dance production Sri Rama Charitham which was premiered at Westfield High School on July 16 2017.

Krishna

This dance production was premiered at The Sangam program by Elli Lilly on 2015. Concept and Choreography by Aparna Satheesan.

Artists:

  • Aparna Satheesan(as Krishna)
  • Anjali Pillai
  • Anila Podila
  • Sushuma Yarlagadda
  • Ridhi Patibandla
  • Sruthi Chintalacharuvu
  • Swetha Nakshatri

This is a semi classical fusion Indian dance which depicts some of the episodes of life of Little Krishna. I have used a blend of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi movements to this dance which depicts episodes of Krishna stealing butter, Yashoda(Krishna’s mom) seeing the whole universe in little Krishna’s mouth, Krishna playing pranks on gopikas, Krishna dancing with Gopikas, Krishna dancing on the evil serpent Kaliya(Kaliyamardanam) and also shows a small dance on the rim of a brass plate to include the kuchipudi aspect in the dance.

Promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBIeUQFcNhY

Shivoham

Concept and Choreography: Aparna Satheesan

Artists:

  • Aparna Satheesan
  • Anjali Pillai
  • Ridhi Patibandla
  • Sai Meghana
  • Sushmitha Pushpala

Shivoham is a bharatanatyam dance production on The Supreme Lord of Dance, Shiva(Nataraja). In this dance, we demonstrates the story of Bhasmasura and how Lord Vishnu turned into a woman form,  called Mohini and defeated this demon and saved Lord Shiva. This choreography is rich in the nritta aspects of Bharatanatyam with intricate jathis and foot work. Samyoga presenting our second dance production Shivoham after Krishna. This was performed for the Sangam program 2016 sponsored by Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, IN, USA at The Center for Performing Arts, Carmel

Promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5x_aV7MoSc

Sri Rama Charitham

Artists:

  • Aparna Satheesan(as Rama)—Kuchpudi Dancer
  • Rajendra Kedlaya(as Ravana)—Yakshagana Dancer
  • Savitha Venkatapathi(as Lakshmana)— Bharatanatyam Dancer
  • Miss Jwala Rejimon(as Sita)—Bharatanatyam Dancer
  • Miss Karnika Mehrotra(as Maaricha)—Kathak Dancer
  • Miss Madhumita Rajendra(as Hanuman) – Also a Yakshagana Dancer

Musicians for live orchestra are flying in from India. The objective of the show is to bring together 4 different dance forms, each of which originate from a different area of India, in an effort to appeal to a larger audience. Bharatanatyam is from Tamil Nadu. Kuchpudi originates from Andra Pradesh. Kathak dance is from Northern India, and Yakshagana is from Karnataka. Each of the dance forms also has unique music accompaniment and is sung in different languages. Hopefully including these four art forms will appeal to a larger audience and help more people with various backgrounds appreciate the traditional art form of their hometowns. We want to portray each dance form in its purest and most traditional form in an effort to showcase the beauty of Indian classical arts. Hopefully we will convert some people to Indian classical art lovers.

Sri Rama Charitham is a dance drama based on Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic that is traditionally attributed to the authorship of Sage Valmiki. The story revolves around Lord Rama’s seemingly endless search for his beautiful and virtuous wife Sita, who was kidnapped by a terrible demon king. The story begins when Rama’s stepmother plots to deny Rama his rightfully inherited throne. As a result, Rama is exiled to the forest and leaves Ayodhya with Sita and his stepbrother Lakshmana. During their exiled days in the forest, Sita witnesses a beautiful golden deer walking in the forest and asks her husband to bring the deer to her so she can play with it and admire its beauty. The deer is in fact a demon in disguise, meant to isolate Sita, leaving her unprotected by Rama and Lakshmana. In her husband’s absence, Sita is abducted by Ravana, a demon king, and is taken to his palace in Sri Lanka. The heartbroken Rama desperately searches for his wife, aided by several creatures, including a monkey God named Hanuman who invents unique strategies to outwit Ravana and bring Sita home. Epic battles ensue, tricks are played, and ultimately good triumphs over evil. Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya, where he rightfully takes his place as king.

Upcoming Events:

2017

Jan 14 – Karur Natyanjali festival, India

July 16 – Sri Rama Charitham, Westfield School (Indianapolis)

Aug 18 – Heartland Film Festival, Indiana Historical Society

Aug 19th – Nritya Samarpanam, Chicago, IL, USA

Aug 20th – Indian Day, Indian Association of Indianapolis, Monument Circle, Dowtown

Aug 25th – Arts United, Fort Wayne, IN, USA

Sept 9th – Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, Indianapolis.

Past Events

Shivoham – The Center of Performing Arts, Carmel, IN, USA

Samyoga Festival Fort Wayne, IN, USA

Featured Performer at Balaji temple, IL, USA

Samarpana at Vyloppili Samskruti Bhavan, India

Kuchipudi at Indian Council of Cultural Relations(ICCR), Bangalore IN

Krishna at The Center of Performing Arts, Carmel, IN, USA

Soorya Festival India

Light and Sound show, Soorya Dance festival, India

Awards:
  • Nrithya Shiromani Award Winner
  • Bharata Shasthra Nrithya Praveena Award
  • Abhinandan Sara Award Winner
  • Natya Shiromani National Award by India Festival USA
  • Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival Winner
  • State Youth Festival Winner
  • State Ambassador for Indian Raga
  • Member of International Dance Council
  • Featured performer at The Balaji temple, Chicago
  • Kalathilakam(Overall Champion) at Sri Chitra Thirunal Sangeeta natya competition
  • Kalathilakam at School Youth festivals.
  • Kuchipudi, Folk Dance, Kathakali, Ganamela- Kerala State Youth Festival Winner.

PHOTOS

VIDEOS

  • Kuchipudi dance performance by Aparna Satheesan(Indianapolis) at Sri Venketeshwara temple, Chicago as part of the Shivrathri festival 2016 as a featured dancer for the event. This is a Ganesha Pravesha Daravu from Vishnu pallaki seva prabandham followed by Ganapthi kauthuvam. Chorepgraphed by my Guru Smt. Vyjayanthi Kashi.