Aparna Sindhoor is the Artistic Director of Navarasa Dance Theater.
Sindhoor has trained in Bharatanatyam (one of the Indian classical dance forms) for over 20 years including 15 years with Dr. K. Venkatalakshamma, one of the foremost proponents of the Mysore style of Bharatanatyam where Abhinaya (facial expression) and graceful Jathis (pure dance compositions) are emphasized. Sindhoor has been giving accomplished professional performances since her arangetram (graduation solo recital) in 1989. Sindhoor holds a Vidwat (Masters) in dance, a Masters in English, and a Bachelors degree in Dance, literature and Dramatics. She was awarded the gold medal in 1990 for finishing first in dance at the University of Mysore. She received her doctorate in dance and theater from the Boston University in 2009.
Since 1996 Sindhoor has been working on dance theater forms with SM Raju (Rajendran M. Sivasankaran) that bring varied art forms and styles to tell contemporary stories. Using stories like, The Incident and After, The Hunt, Clothes, Draupadi, River Rites, written by contemporary writers, Sindhoor and Raju have created works that give a new dimension to the content and beauty of the dance performance. Using Indian classical dance, yoga, songs, martial arts, stories and folk dances they explore new ways of presenting with out compromising the beauty of the forms. This has made their work more interesting and accessible to diverse audiences. Sindhoor brings in a unique blend of depth in the content, novelty in the presentation and extraordinary artistry.
An accomplished choreographer and performer, Sindhoor's is known for her creativity and power to push boundaries. She has conceived and choreographed over 20 full-length dance works. She was awarded grants from the Human Resource Development Agency, Government of India, for her dance works, Vachanadara and A Concise Portrait of Indian Woman. In these works she has expanded the boundaries of the traditional Bharatanatyam recital in terms of the subject, style and production. In A Concise Portrait of Indian Woman, she used regional folk dance as part of the choreography, along with the classical dance. She was sponsored by Urban Bush Women to attend the A New Dancer for a New Society workshop at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida in the summer of 1997. She has collaborated with artists and companies such as Robert Uno of New World Theater, Rangayana and Rahul Varma of Teesri Duniya. She is one of the choreographers for Santhosh Sivan's film, Anandabadhram. She has received grants from Arts International, Somerville Arts Council, Massachusetts Arts council and UMass Arts Council. Sindhoor is the founding director of Navarasa Natyalaya, a performance art school in Mysore.
Aparna Sindhoor is also an experienced actor. Nagamandala, in which she acted as the protagonist Rani, won the best play of the year award at the Karnataka Nataka (theater) Academy. She is one of the three women featured in a documentary film about artists, Take It From Me (2001 Nefertiti Productions). Her works have been showcased in the US, Canada, Germany and India including venues and festivals like the Jacob's Pillow, Lincoln Center, New Jersey Performance Arts Center, La Mama and New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas.
S.M.Raju, co-founder of Navarasa Dance Theater, hails from India and was a successful computer scientist in the USA where he did his graduate studies. He worked as a senior researcher in Verizon Labs and then went to start Knumi, a venture funded startup. He has two US patents to his credit. His passion for film and theater led him to write, direct and produce a dozen theater work for Navarasa Dance Theater(www.navarasa.org). He has served as a board member of Yantra Media, a TV production house. Currently, he is producing educational videos for school children for the government of Tamilnadu through Aparajitha Foundation. He is also multiple winner of the James Baldwin playwright award. He was one of the Executive Producers of Anandabhadram, a Malayalam feature film(www.anandhabhadram.com). Varnam is his(www.varnamthefilm.com) film directional debut where he explores universal themes of prejudice, faith and forgiveness in an indian context that is caught at the crossroads of globalization and feudal traditions.
Anil Natyaveda is a Co-Director of Navarasa Dance Theater. He is a choreographer, dancer, teacher and a martial artist (kalari ppyattu) from Triuvanathapuram, India. Anil has trained in classical dance forms and has also trained in contemporary and aerial dance forms with renowned teachers including Daksha Seth, Professor Shivanandan, Jayachandran, Vembayam Appukuttan Nair, Uday Deshpande and Govindankutti Gurukal. He has a degree in dance from Sree Swathithirunal Music College, India. He also acquired teacher-training degree in Dance: Project Sakrthaya. He has been a professional dancer since 1991. He has performed all over the world including at the Edinburgh Dance Festival, Germany International Summer Theatre Festival, Hong Kong Art Festival, Khaguraho Festival in Dance, Kozh Company, UK celebrating Indian Independence. He has also performed and taught dance classes in USA and Canada. He choreographed for Indian films including Santhosh Sivan’s film, Anandabadhram. In 2008 Anil was honored with the Natyaratnam award by the Kerala State Guru Gopinath Trust, India.
Rajesh Raveendran is a dancer and martial artist from Kerala, India. He has trained for over ten years with Anil Natyaveda and with Daksha Seth. He is trained in dance theater forms with Aparna Sindhoor. He has performed all over the world including India, Singapore, Italy, Germany and the Edinburgh Dance Festival. Rajesh was one of the dancers with the Navarasa Dance Theater’s work with Franco Dragone’s show INDIA in Germany.
Raghu Narayanan is a classically trained dancer from Kerala, India. He has studied dance forms such as Bharatanatyam and Kuchupudi and folk dances for over a decade. He has a Master’s Degree in Dance from MG University, Kerala. He has performed in India and UAE. He has trained with Anil Natyaveda and Aparna Sindhoor in contemporary dance theater. He has taught several students in India and has won awards in competitions. Raghu has worked with Navarasa Dance Theater for the past five years.
Smitha Radhakrishnan has studied Bharatnatyam from childhood both in the US and India, most recently with Katherine Kuhiraman of Kalanjali Dances of India in Berkeley, CA. In California, she also co-founded and led NATyA, a classical Indian dance company that brought together Bharatanatyam and Mohini Attam with original music and poetry to re-interpret mythical stories for contemporary contexts. Smitha has performed extensively in groups and as a soloist in the US, South Africa, and India for the past 15 years. She has been with the Navarasa Dance Theater since 2008.
Anne Dresbach is an Associate Manager and Technical Director of Navarasa Dance Theater. She specialized in Lighting Design. She designs for a broad spectrum of performance including dance, musicals, opera, plays, and corporate events. Originally from San Jose, California, she moved to Boston to attend Emerson College where she received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Design and Technology. Companies she has designed for include Riverside Theatre Works, New England Conservatory, Young Opera Company of New England, and, of course, Navarasa Dance Theater.