ARANGETRAM
About Aanya's Arangetram
Arangetram is a Sanskrit word that translates to "Ascending the stage". It is considered to be the graduation rectal of Indian classical dance. It marks the completion of a dancer's formal training and the beginning of their journey as a professional dancer.
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Aanya was the first student of her academy to complete the Arangetram. Below are the key individuals involved in her performance, including her Guru (teacher) and the musicians.
Guru Amirthini Sivaharan
Amirthini started her dance journey at the tender age of 5 under the guidance of Guru Smt. Bawaani-Kuga Priya. Through the years she has had multiple notable performances and milestones including winning gold medals in island wide National Sri Lankan Government competition.
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She has been honoured with multiple awards including the prestigious Sri Lankan Presidential award and received the title of ‘International Naatyamayil’ in 2006.
Guru Amirthini joined Kalakshetra in Chennai, India in 2007 as an International full scholarship recipient from ICCR India. Her Gurus in Kalakshetra included Smt. Nandini Nagaraj, Sir Mohan and Vasunthara Thomas.
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Following her graduation from Kalakshetra, she pursued Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Kalai Kaveri College of Fine Arts. Between the years 1997 and 2006 she gave several notable performances winning gold medals in many of these. In the recent past, some of her memorable performances include lead roles in dance drama recitals: Shivagaami-yin Shabadam and MaNNum MagaLum.
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Musicians
Narayanan Nambudiri hails from a family of singers and dancers. He started learning Carnatic music from a very young age under the tutelge of his father & other gurus. He is also an accomplished Kathakali dancer, and also sings for Kathakali performances. He is currently learning Chenda (percussion instrument) from Bhasker's Academy, Singapore. Narayanan considers this his Rangapravesha too, as he is doing his first full length Bharatnatyam singing performance, having come back to music and dance a few years back, after a hiatus of 20+ years.
Sri. Narayanan Nambudiri, Vocal
Sri Ramanan started learning Mridangam at the age of 12 from the late Sri R Thangavelu of Kuala Lumpur. In 1981, he joined the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society and studied under the loving care of Sri Karaikudi R Krishnamurthy, passing his final examination conducted by the Society in June 1984 with distinction. Sri Ramanan has been performing regularly since 1981 and has accompanied many accomplished musicians and dancers both locally and abroad. To date, he has provided Mridangam accompaniment for more than 300 Aarangetrams. In 1998, he was awarded “Sangeetha Kala Nipuna” by Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society and in 2009, was awarded the title “Sangeetha Kala Mani '' by Apsaras Arts.
Sri. T. Ramanan, Mridangam
Sughosh Pavan hails from a musical family. His Gurus include Sri B Raghuram, Sri B.U. Ganesh Prasad, Smt Charulatha Ramanujam. An All India Radio graded artist, he is also a recipient of the Center for Cultural Research and Talent, India. He has collaborated with numerous local and international artists. He has released Audio CD with his family and Guru called “Turiya Ninanada”. He has accompanied numerous artists across various prestigious Sabhas in Singapore and India.
He has recently developed a mobile app called “TalaGroove”(https://lnkd.in/g4vP4qJS) which helps teachers record Carnatic music lessons with visual metronome. Students can use this to practice and submit assignments, and it is designed to help both initial as well as advanced learners.
Sri. Sughosh Pavan, Violin
Sreenivasan hails from the musical family of Ramanathapuram Sri.’Poochi’ Srinivasa Iyengar. He started learning flute from Sri. Venu Pillai at Madurai and continued his learning from his mother & Guru Smt. B Padmasani (Graded Artist, All India Radio). Sreenivasan has been bestowed with titles “Kalai Ilamani” from Govt of Tamil Nadu and “Kuzhalisai Thendral” from “Thaiman Izhakia Kazhagam”, Madurai. He is an accomplished accompanying artist for classical Bharatanatyam and light classical concerts. He has accompanied many leading classical dancers in India, Singapore and Malaysia.
