Kalanidhi Dance

Kavya Smrithi Adabala was trained in Kuchipudi under Guru Hari Rama Murthy at Kuchipudi Kalakshetra in Vizag, India for over 15 years. Since then, she has performed at various venues across India under her Guru's guidance.

She works as a Software developer in Northern Virginia, but her passion for dance led her to join Kalanidhi Dance in Bethesda, MD. Her grace and talent quickly led her to joining Kalanidhi Dance company in 2016. She has performed in many notable Kalanidhi productions in DC, New York, and Denver.

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Keerthana Adapa, made her debut as a member of the Kalanidhi Dance Company in the 2016 production of “Rasa Revisited”. Since joining the company, she has performed in many Kalanidhi productions including The Enchanted Forest, Poetry of Love, and Why We Dance. Keerthana trained in Kuchipudi for 12 years, under the tutelage of Guru Anuradha Nehru and Sri Jaikishore Mosalikanti.

Keerthana is eager for the chance to learn more as she feels that Kuchipudi is an endless pursuit and hopes to spread her love of the art form to the next generation.

A current student of Virginia Tech’s Engineering School, she has been able to pursue her passion for dance by joining her college’s competitive Bhangra dance team. She is now the captain and choreographer for her team. She hopes to draw inspiration from these other art forms and pave her own path in the world of Kuchipudi.

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Ankitha Durvasula  has been a dancer from a very young age. At age 4, after watching a folk dance performance, she begged her mom to enroll her in dance classes. Her grandmother suggested Kuchipudi classes instead. She remembers falling in love with it from the very first day, and it continues to be the thing that makes her happiest in life.

In 2012, after years of learning from Smt. Anuradha Nehru, Ankitha joined the Kalanidhi Dance Company. She has performed at venues including the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, the Lincoln Center, and the Drive East Festival in New York. She has been part of numerous Kalanidhi productions including Lalla Roukh, Les Fêtes de I’Hymen et de I’Amour, Rasa Revisited, Kalanidhi’s 25th Anniversary Gala, Why We Dance, Dancing with Shiva, The Poetry of Love, The Enchanted Forest, and Bhoomi. Ankitha says her fondest memories are of trips with Kalanidhi, from countless trips to NYC, the trip to Colorado to present Bhoomi, and the trip to Nrityagram. She is currently choreographing for a Kalanidhi production. Her favorite item is Sringaarinchukoni. A powerful, strong dancer, she was convinced that the graceful, gentle piece wouldn’t suit her. She has grown to love the way the different women act, from shy to bold to seductive. She says it makes the piece fun to perform and it comes out a little different each time.

She believes that dance is a universal language, no matter what style. Ankitha is a rising junior at Duke University, pursuing majors in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science and a minor in Dance. She is captain of her school’s Indian Classical dance team and a performing member of Duke Swing (@dukeswing). She recently helped to get the Duke Dance Department to change its requirements for a dance minor so that dancers not trained in Western styles like ballet can learn and be recognized. She hopes to teach the dance community that all styles of dance deserve to be taught, not merely as electives. For Ankitha, the community she has developed through dancing with Kalanidhi and beyond is something really close to her heart.

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Ramya Durvasula, a graceful and vibrant dancer, has been dancing with the Kalanidhi Dance Company since 2013. She has learned from her guru, Anuradha Nehru, for over 13 years, as well as from Sri Jaikishore Mosalikanti, and she has developed a deep love for the intricacies of the art form.

With Kalanidhi, she has had the pleasure of performing at prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Library of Congress, Drive East Festival, and the Battery Dance Festival. She has taken part in productions including Lalla Roukh, Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour, Rasa Revisited, and Kalanidhi @ 25. She worked on Kalanidhi’s #WhyIDance campaign with Indian Raga, and she has also worked on the development of Seasons with Kalanidhi, and presented the Melody showcase of Winter Wonderland.

She recently began choreographing for Kalanidhi. Her recent work, Shiva Panchakshara Stotra, has garnered over 700k views online, and she was recently selected to present an extended version of the piece at the 40th Annual Battery Dance Festival.

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Swetha has been performing with the Company since 2018.  She has been a part of Why We Dance, Rasa, Bhoomi, and Kalanidhi’s Salon Series and has traveled with the Company to perform in several shows in New York and Colorado.  Swetha has also performed in the UN, Asian American New Year Gala, and the Indian Embassy. Swetha’s dance inspirations are her Gurus- Anuradha Nehru, Lavanya Thamire, and Kishore Mosalikanti. .

A dedicated dancer, Swetha is preparing for her Rangaprevesam the summer of 2021, and hopes to continue dancing and embracing Kuchipudi throughout her life. Apart from dance, Swetha loves painting, baking, and going on hikes. She is also very passionate towards soccer and has been the captain of the Rock Ridge Women’s Soccer team for the past 2 years.  She is a rising freshman heading to University of Virginia.

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Srilekha has been a part of Kalanidhi Dance for more than 18 years. Having stumbled upon the Kuchipudi art form by chance at the age of 6 through the dance school of her aunt, Smt. Rajani Malladi, Srilekha was thrilled to join Kalanidhi as a student in 2003 and she has remained enchanted by the art form ever since. In 2007, she debuted with the Kalanidhi Dance Company as part of the original Rasa production, and she was part of the troupe that took the show on tour to Hyderabad, Chennai, and New Delhi that year. She has since performed in Kalanidhi's original Bhagmati and Bhoomi productions, and toured with the company in venues across the United States.

As Srilekha has moved around the world for her academic education and legal career, she has brought Kuchipudi with her. She performed repeatedly at Columbia University during her time there, and presented solo performances at the Raindrops Festival in Mumbai in 2013 and in London in 2015. More recently, she helped lead Kalanidhi’s flagship virtual Seasons production over the 2020-2021 year. She currently lives in Miami, FL, where she works as an Assistant Federal Public Defender, and helps to develop Kalanidhi's artistic work as current Artist-in-residence.

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Mytreyi Nair, a senior at independence high school has been a student at Kalanidhi Dance for 12 years and has been part of the Kalanidhi Dance Company since 2021. Mytreyi was selected to attend the prestigious Governor’s School Summer residential Program for performing arts.  She has performed at several esteemed venues, such as, Kennedy Center, Cherry Blossom Festival, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Atlas Performing Arts Center, The House of Sweden, and the World Dance Showcase. Mytreyi is fortunate and is extremely proud to be a part of Kalanidhi Dance company and is always excited to showcase and share her love for Kuchipudi.

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Sahiti Rachakonda had her debut as a member of the Kalanidhi Dance Company during our 2017 production of The Poetry of Love. Sahiti loves connecting with her audiences and embodying various characters because it brings joy to all. A sweet, graceful dancer on stage. Sahiti is currently preparing for her rangapravesam in 2021, and her goal is to continue dancing and improving her art throughout her life. Outside of Kuchipudi, Sahiti proves to be a motivated student and leader. She was also part of the Kalanidhi Dance Company group fellowship with IndianRaga and has choreographed Malhar Jham Thillana.

She is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology interested in studying computational biology. She is currently the president and lead Bollywood choreographer for Namaste, an Indian cultural club that runs the largest high school cultural celebration in the country. In her free time, she enjoys calligraphy, baking, and spending time with friends and family!

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Ritika Reddy has performed with the Kalanidhi Dance Company since 2014, and has traveled with the Company to DC, New York, Denver, and Texas to perform in various prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Battery Park. As a company dancer she has performed in Kalanidhi’s Rasa Revisited, Why We Dance, Bhoomi, The Enchanted Forest, and Poetry of Love.

For Ritika, dance runs in the family: she was inspired to start learning Kuchipudi after watching performances by two of her aunts who are disciples of Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam. Her dance inspirations are her gurus, Smt. Anuradha Nehru, Jaikishore Mosalikanti, and Smt. Lavanya Thamire, who she admires immensely. Ritika completed her Rangaprevesam in 2019, and has volunteered with Kalanidhi as an assistant teacher. Currently, Ritika is working as a Marketing Intern at Kalanidhi.

An expressive dancer, Ritika continues to perform and has started to choreograph for Kalanidhi. She hopes to become a dance teacher and aims to mold the next generation of classical dancers as well as develop choreography that tackles social issues by using Kuchipudi’s extensive vocabulary. Her recent choreography Bitiya for IndianRaga reflects women’s empowerment. After graduating from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, where she is currently pursing a degree in Finance and Management, Ritika hopes to pursue a career in Financial Consulting.

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Pragnya Thamire began her dance training at the age five under Anuradha Nehru of Kalanidhi Dance. Passionate about Indian dance, Pragnya has matured way beyond her years into a confident and vibrant classical Indian dancer. She made her debut as a member of the Kalanidhi Dance Company at the age of 12, performed her Rangapravesham in 2016 at the age of 15, and has performed widely at a number of prestigious venues and festivals including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Library of Congress, Wolf Trap and Drive East Festival in New York City to name a few.

She had a penchant for choreography, and so was given the opportunity to choreograph on Kalanidhi students at a very young age. She choreographed her first original Kuchipudi dance, Sakala in 2020 when Kalanidhi partnered with IndianRaga.

Her dance inspirations are her guru Smt. Anuradha Nehru, Sri Jaikishore Mosalikanti, Bijayini Satpathy, and Alvin Ailey.

She is deeply committed to Kuchipudi and belongs to the next generation of must-watch emerging Kuchipudi artists.  Pragnya joined Kalanidhi staff in January 2022 as a marketing manager. In addition to managing Kalanidhi’s social media platforms, her responsibilities also include teaching and outreach.

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Growing up in India, Lavanya was initially introduced to Kuchipudi in school when she was only 9. She was instantly taken with the art form, and continued her training through summer workshops in Visakhapatnam with Smt. Bala Kondala Rao, one of Master Vempati Chinna Satyam’s foremost students.

After a hiatus, during which she had two lovely children, Lavanya found her artistic home at Kalanidhi. She joined the organization as a student in 2005, and connected deeply with Kalanidhi’s style and training under the guidance of her guru, Smt. Anuradha Nehru. She also trained with guru Sri Jai Kishore Mosalikanti during Kalanidhi’s summer camp sessions.

As she immersed herself in the study of the art form, Lavanya began to take on an increasing leadership role at Kalanidhi, first as a member of the performing Dance Company in 2007, and then as a teacher in 2008, and and rose to become the Education Director of Kalanidhi’s dance school in 2013. As a company dancer, Lavanya toured with Kalanidhi throughout the United States and India.

A beloved teacher, she has touched the lives of hundreds of students and hopes to continue to share her passion for Kuchipudi with children throughout the region and inspire the next generation of dancers through her tireless energy for dance.

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Deviga has been learning from her guru Smt. Anuradha Nehru since the age of 10. Deviga completed her Rangapravesam in 2014, and since joining the company, she has performed at many Kalanidhi productions including Lalla Roukh, Les Fêtes de I’Hymen et de I’Amour, Rasa Revisited, Kalanidhi’s 25th Anniversary Gala, Why We Dance, Dancing with Shiva, The Poetry of Love, and Chandalika. She has performed at stages including the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Center in NYC, and the Library of Congress.

She loves that dance allows her to express her confidence, and she especially loves dancing with a live orchestra. Along with dancing for Kalanidhi, she has also had the opportunity to see things from the instructor’s point of view; a few years ago, she used to help teach classes at Kalanidhi’s Ashburn, Virginia location. She credits this experience for pushing her to improve her skills and become a better dancer.

Deviga has also started to choreograph for Kalanidhi and is working on a piece for an upcoming show. Outside of dancing, Deviga is a software engineer who lives in Rockville, MD. She enjoys cooking in her free time.

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