Marisa’s Journey
Marisa Natarajan is 11 years old and will be entering middle school at Catlin Gabel in the fall. She has been a Jr. Blazer Dancer for the last 2 years and this year, participated in many dance competitions with her competitive dance team at Elite Dance Studio. She takes Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop at Elite and has been dancing there for the last 8 years. She recently won a scholarship to the prestigious national dance convention, JUMP in New York City. Marisa has also participated in productions at the Northwest Children’s Theater, including playing the mouse in Alice in Wonderland and Pepito in Oh Madeline!
Read about Marisa’s journey here
Chitra’s Journey
Chitra Sridhar is the artistic director of the Nirvana Academy for Indian Arts in Portland. She was trained under Vazhuvoor and Mysore styles of Bharathanatyam during her formative years. Chitra has performed in India , Phoenix, Portland and has been a guest artiste for different schools including the Rangoli Foundation for Arts,LA. She has also trained under Smt Minal Prabhu (Kalakshetra) and Smt Brugha Bassel (Abhinaya).Chitra is also a Carnatic musician and teaches vocal music. In addition to classical choreography, she teaches folk and fusion items for children and adults. In an effort to promote Kannada compositions and provide a stage for the numerous dance and music schools in Portland , Chitra started the Purandara Dasa Jayanthi celebrations in 2011.
Read about Chitra’s Journey here
Poorna’s Journey
A Dancer, Teacher & Student, I have been learning this art under the tutelage of Kalaimamani Krishnakumari Narendran from the tender age of 6. Today after over 18 years of learning dance, and over thousand performances all over India, I continue to be a passionate student of this glorious art.
A regular December season performer, I have also been trained by several senior dancers renowned in this field like Sir Adayar Lakshmanan & Smt. Nrithya Jagannathan. After performing and handling classes for over ten years, my Guru trained me for the next stage and I had my Natuvangam Arangetram in the year 2008 & have assisted my teacher in several other performances.
I am also qualified artist from the Indian National Television. An Engagement, a marriage proposal, and a loving husband, all this brought me to the United States. This is my first trip to the United States and I am fortunate to connect with teachers who are renowned & have the experience of teaching here.
