Chinmaya Mission Cultural Class Information
Chinmaya Mission Boston provides an outstanding venue for teachers in the greater Boston area to instruct children and adults in classical Indian music and dance. The Center also permits the use of its facility for performances by international and local artists. For the list of upcoming cultural events, please click here www.chinmaya-boston.org/events
Whether it is music, dance or drama, these fine arts serve as a motivating resource for children and youth to develop their talents in the service of something greater than themselves. While the public at large benefits from uplifting musical performances and grand theatrical productions, the true beneficiaries are the children of the community who get the opportunity to learn the ancient art of Indian classical music and dance and evolve both culturally and spiritually.
Our Cultural team:
Coordinator: Durga Krishnan. She can be reached at durga.krishnan@gmail.com for any questions.
Teachers
Durga Krishnan (Carnatic Veena & Vocal)
Sundays: 9 am - open
Durga Krishnan is a graduate of Carnatic Music College of India with a degree and Teacher's certificate in Carnatic music. She has been teaching and promoting Carnatic music in the Boston area for the last 3 decades. She is also one of the primary disciples of the legendary veena artist the late Dr. Chittibabu. She is co-ordinator for the Chinmaya Mission Cultural activities.
Padmavalli Bhamidipati (Carnatic Vocal)
Sundays: 3 pm – 4 pm
Padma has performed on multiple prestigious stages like Thyagaraja gana sabha, Saraswathi gana sabha etc. and also AIR artist. Hailing from a musically inclined family, she had advanced music training under Sri Akella Prabhakara Murthy garu a well known 'A' grade AIR National artist who was the student of Vidwan Pinakapani and Kittamani Ayyar. She had been teaching in Boston area for the past 8 years.
P.S. Prakruti(Bharathanatyam)
Sunday afternoons
Prakruti is trained in the classical Dhandayudha Pani Pillai style of Bharathanatyam by her Guru, Smt. Charu Narasimhan. She has recently moved to the Boston area from Maryland. She is dedicated to passing on the traditional dance form to her students.
Prakruti, an Electrical Engineer by profession, is ardently devoted to Bharathanatyam and the fine arts.
Neha Parikh (Bharathanatyam & Mohini Aattam)
Saturdays – 3 pm
Neha Parikh has a master's degree in fine arts in Bharata-Natyam with a major in Choreography.At the beginning of 2005 she started “ Chidambaram Nritya kala Academy” where she teaches Bharata Natyam. Neha Parikh is a very young popular artist in the New England area. She is wel-aclaimed for her choreographic skills and expressiveness in classical and folk dances. She inspires all her students to strive for perfection and individual focus training brings out the best in them. She is very popular in the Nashua area for her authentic style of teaching and uncompromising discipline that helps her students reach the highest standards in dance. She also teaches a very beautiful dance style from Kerala called Mohiniattam.
Sujatha Meyyappan (Bharathanatyam – Beginners level)
Friday - Evening
Sujatha Meyyappan started her studies of Bharathanatyam under the guidance
of late Kalaimamani T.K.Rajalakshmi Ammal and did her Arangetram at age of
9 and later under Guru Smt. Subhashini Chandrasekar of Jeya Aruna
Brathalaya. Since her childhood she has given numerous performances in
India and United States . She started "Kolam Academy of Dance" with the
intention to help aspiring students learn Bharathanatyam and their
cultural, historical and mythological backdrops, in depth understanding and
to give professional and quality performances. She has more than 20 years
of experience in learning, performing and teaching Bharathanatyam.
Sumithira Anand(Kuchipudi) Sunday mornings and weekday evenings
Sumithira Anand specializes in Kuchipudi style of Inidan dance and has been teaching in New England for the past 8 years. She received her training from Smt. Anuradha Venkatakrishna, disciple of Shri. Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma. She was awarded the title Nritya Kalasri in 1995 for her lead roles in the Gopi Krishna Ballet and Nritya Bharathi in 2009, for her dedication to spread the art form. Sumithira Anand directs Sri Kuchipudi Nrithyasadhana, established with a vision to teach the theory and practice of traditional Kuchipudi and impart the skills needed to carry on the guru-sishya tradition. Students have completed their Rangapravesam under Sumithira’s tutelage.
**Deepti Navaratna (Carnatic Vocal)
Saturdays
Deepti Navaratna is a Carnatic vocalist trained under the tutelage of Smt. Rohini Manjunath, disciple of Smt. Neela Ramgopal, Chennai. Deepti is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes throughout her musical career; prominent among them being the All India Radio National Music Award in the categories of Carnatic music and light classical music. She was selected to perform at the National Youth Festival conducted by the Government of India at Banaras in 1999 and 2001. Deepti is also deeply interested in the ethnographic and ethnomusicological aspects of Carnatic music. An active member of Society of Ethnomusicology and the International Council for Traditional Music, she has presented her research at several conferences in the United States. Currently, she is a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
**Akshay Navaladi (Tabla)
Sunday: 12 PM - 1 PM
Akshay started taking his music lessons in India at an early age of 6. He is currently a disciple of Ustad Akram Khan of Delhi/Ajrada gharana. Akshay has won many awards and has performed on Indian television. Akshay has been performing with both Hindustani and Carnatic music artists for the last several years in India and abroad. He was featured in the ‘Young Achievers’ column of the ‘The Hindu’ newspaper in India.
**Preeti Chakravarty-(Hindustani Vocal Music and Hindustani Music on the Keyboard/Harmonium)
Wednesday:
6 PM - 7 PM --- Keyboard
7 PM - 8 PM --- Hindustani Vocal
Saturday:
2 PM - 3 PM --- Hindustani Vocal
3 PM - 4 PM --- Hindustani Vocal
Sunday:
10 AM - 11 AM --- Keyboard
11 AM - 12 PM --- Hindustani Vocal
Preeti Chakravarty received her initial training in vocal music in Bhagalpur, Bihar and advanced training from Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan, a well-known exponent of the Gwalior Gharana. Mrs. Chakravarty has extensive experience in teaching music and curriculum development. She served as the head of the department of music in a four year college in Bihar and as the chairperson of the curriculum committee for a model music university. She was also a member of the board of examiners in various universities in the state of Bihar, India.
**Faculty of LearnQuest Academy of Music.
Sheena Patel – Yoga
Sandra Washburn – Yoga
Kusum Gill – Yoga