Born and raised in the Bay Area, Athira Pratap has been learning Bharatanatyam since the age of 4 and Mohiniyattam under the guidance of her mother, Smt. Bindu Pratap, disciple of Smt. Meera Nambiar who is the senior disciple of the world-renowned Padmabhushan Dhananjayans. She has been named a 2016 YoungArts National Finalist in Dance — one of the most selective and competitive arts honors in America, a 2013 Cleveland Thyagaraja International Dance Festival Winner, the youngest soloist selected to perform in World Arts West’s prestigious Ethnic Dance Festival’s 31-year history in 2009, and Asianet’s North American Indian Classical Dance Winner. She has performed in numerous festivals, platforms, and productions locally and internationally, including solo repertoires during the Chennai Margazhi season. Her poignant way of storytelling with depth has received notable acclaim and she continues a passion for exploring unknown and hidden narratives through this medium. She also performs as a principal dancer for Nritanjali Dance Academy and choreographs for productions, including “Nakshatra”, “Nartana Malika”, “Samanya”, and “Dakshina”.  Athira Pratap holds a B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California, an M.S. in Integrative Anatomical Sciences from USC Keck School of Medicine, and continues to explore her creative pursuits for the performing arts. 

Swati Pramod Hegde is a dedicated Bharatanatyam dancer currently training
under the guidance of Acharya Smt. Meera Sreenarayanan. She began her
training with Acharya Smt. Seema Bhagwat in Sirsi, Karnataka. After a gap of 11years, which included relocating to the US, Swati reconnected with her passion for Bharatanatyam and resumed her training with Acharya Smt. Surabhi Bharadwaj.

She has performed both solo and ensemble pieces across the US, including at the IDIA Dance Festival and SafeHouse Arts. Recently, she
participated in the Dancepts Dance Intensive in Guruvayur, where she immersed herself in intensive training with her teacher and other distinguished scholars.

Alongside her dance pursuits, Swati works full-time as a Hardware Engineer.

Pooja has been training in Kathak over the last 14 years under Gurus Smt. Nirupama Rajendra and Shri T.D. Rajendra from Bangalore, India. She has had the privilege of performing with Abhinava Dance Company at the prestigious Mysore Dasara Festival, Bangalore International Film Festival, ZEE5 Awards and Alvas NudiSiri to name a few and has also had the opportunity to be a part of their esteemed productions.She has learnt Karanas, a special movement vocabulary of Natyashastra from her Guru Smt. Nirupama. She has also attended Kathak workshops of legendary Gurus like Padma Bhushan Kumudini Lakhiaji and Pandit Birju Maharajji organized by Abhinava Dance Company.

On moving to the US, she is practicing and performing under the guidance of Guru Parul Shah and Guru Nirmala Madhava(Pampa) also working as a collaborative artist with other dance companies(NDC, Naatak in the bay area). She has rendered solo recitals for various organizations at New York, Seattle,New Jersey, Boston, Bay Area,Chicago and Los Angeles,California. She has recently premiered her own work under the guidance of Guru Smt.Nirmala Madhava as a part of the YUVA Festival 2023 at Houston and presented the work as a soloist at Yuva Bharati, California. This was very well received by the audience as it offered a fresh take on a script from Subhashita-Ratna-Bhandagarah. She had the opportunity to collaborate with 8 chosen artists across the US to put on a full length production that got featured on Narthaki. 

She now has the opportunity to present her work at the New York Kathak Festival 2024.She is also an artist in residence as a part of the prestigious Seattle Theatre Group's "Dance This" for 2024. Her collaborative work in Navatman’s Mahabharata (2021) has been selected for film festivals. She has had the privilege of touring across 12 cities in the US and Canada in Aug-September 2024 as a part of Abhinava Dance Company under her Gurus. 

Pooja is also an accomplished vocalist, and has studied Carnatic Music for over 20 years under the guidance of Smt Padma Srinivasan, Shri. Narahari Dixit and Para. Manjunath. She has had the opportunity to render full-fledged Carnatic and light music concerts at prestigious festivals in India and the US such as Ramaseva Mandali(Fort High School), Shri Ramanavami Festival, Aiyyappa temple, Jayarama Seva Mandali, AKKA, SoCal Kannada Sangha, Ithihasa, VAH, LOTUS,SR Fine Arts, SEVA Bay area to name a few. She has been awarded the titles of "Pratibhakankshi" and "Pratibha Puraskara" in India for music. 

Initiated to dance from a young age by dancing to the tunes of Bollywood songs from the television, have been blessed to formally learn and embrace Bharatnatyam as an artform for 15+ years under the guidance of Smt Pramadwara Kittur and Smt Smita Soman (Pune). 

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The never-ending quest and passion towards dance led to me to pursue the art of Odissi under the tutelage of Smt Rasika Gumaste (Pune) for the past 5 years. 

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A Validation Engineer by the day, diligent dancer by heart.  I hold a Visharad in Bharatnatyam (diploma B.F.A) from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Mumbai,India. I have also served as a registered examiner for Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mumbai. 

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Currently I am pursuing Visharad in Odissi from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh.

Both the artforms have given me various opportunities to bloom with prestigious stage performances in USA as well as in India. I have had the opportunity to work with various teachers and colleagues from dance fraternity from India as well as from the Bay area as part of dance dramas and ensemble productions. 

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Performances:

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Utsargo- the Sacrifice a musical production under the guidance of SNA awardee Smt Sutapa Talukdar and Bibek Das.

Nabadiganta -Association oF Bengali, Newark California

Atharvaotsav Mysore Association Mumbai,2024

Cilapathikaram- A tale of anklet dance drama organized by Shanmukha Theaters, 2023 Hayward California.

ICCR Festival of Lights - 2023, Milpitas California

Radio Zindagi Ganesh Utsav Festival- 2023,San Jose, California

SVCC Temple , Ganesh Chaturthi Festival Fremont- 2023,San Jose, California

Margam Unveiled, A Performance Showcase- Prayukti arts- 2022, San Jose

Navaratri Nrityotsav Fremont Hindu temple- 2022, San Jose

IIDF Pune Festival – 2022, Pune,India.

Odissi International Virtual Festival- 2020,2021

Prithvi Arts Marghazi Festival -2021, Virtual

Chinese Lunar New Year Festival, 2020, Portland

HECSA Balaji Temple Marghazi Festival-2020, Portland

Intel India Cultural Festival – 2019, Portland

MANCA Onam festival, NSSCA Onam Festival- 2018, San Jose

International Cultural diversity Festival – 2018, 

Indian Student Organization Festival- 2017, San Jose State University (SJSU)

Jayostute organized by Kalasakta for Promotion of Indian Classical Dances -2020, Virtual 

Vijayadashmi Nrityostsav by Sant Seva Sangh- 2021, Virtual

Sahagaamini by Akanksha Odissi Nrityalaya- 2020, Virtual

• Served as examiner for all levels for Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Bharatanatyam (3 years) -India

Adhya  Kasamsetty (age 18) is a freshman at UC Berkeley l in California. She began training in Kuchipudi at age 6 under the tutelage of her Guru Smt.Madhuri Kishore. Adhya’s journey in dance is a testament to her unwavering dedication and talent, having graced prestigious stages in the US, India, and Cambodia with her captivating solo recitals. As a proud second-generation Indian American, Adhya passionately believes in making Kuchipudi resonate with audiences beyond the Indian diaspora. Her innovative approach of blending traditional Kuchipudi with other artistic traditions has captivated diverse audiences while preserving the art form’s rich grammar and technique. This visionary fusion, nurtured under her Guru’s guidance, showcases her commitment to expanding the boundaries of classical dance.

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​ Adhya  has won numerous dance competitions in the US including KalaAradhana  – First place in Classical Dance Junior category, OSAAT Foundation  – First place in solo competition , TANA Nationals - First place in senior solo , Natya Raga  – First place in senior solo and group category. She also toured Cambodia and was invited to perform in their international Dance Festival. Adhya is also an instructor at her dance school since 2018  imparting her knowledge to the next generation of dancers. In addition to dance, her commitment to community service is equally remarkable, earning her the CREST award from the city of Cupertino for her outstanding contributions. As the former chair of Cupertino's Teen Commission, she led initiatives that made a lasting impact on the community.