Meet Our Faculty
Smt. Keetha Mohan and Smt. Sashi AravinthInstructors and Academy DirectorsCO-FOUNDERS AND ARTISTIC DIRECTORS OF ARUNODHAYA DANCE ACADEMY, MRS. KEETHA MOHAN AND MRS. SASHI ARAVINTH (NÉE SELLATHURAI) ARE LIFELONG STUDENT OF THE CLASSICAL INDIAN DANCE, BHARATHANATYAM. THEIR GURUS INCLUDE SHREE C. S. THOMAS AND SHREEMATI VASUNDHARA THOMAS, TWO OF KALAKSHETRA’S FINEST TEACHERS. IN 2003, SASHI SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE MONTREAL BASED KALABARATHI’S BHARATHANATYA TEACHER TRAINING COURSE.
GIFTED DANCERS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS, BOTH SISTERS HAVE PERFORMED IN SRI LANKA, CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THEY HAVE MANY AWARDS FOR CHOREOGRAPHY, COSTUME DESIGN, DIRECTION AND PERFORMANCE TO THEIR CREDIT FROM MANY OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. THEY ALSO HAVE TO THEIR CREDITS A SEMI-CLASSICAL DANCE VIDEO PRODUCTION “DARISHANAM”, AND A SPECTACULAR LIVE STAGE SHOW “RANGEELA”. BOTH KEETHA AND SASHI ARE RECIPIENT OF SEVERAL SPECIAL AWARDS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE AS AN ARTISTS, TEACHERS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS. KEETHA AND SASHI’S WORK WITH ARUNODHAYA IS AN OUTGROWTH OF THEIR DEDICATION TO THE PRESERVATION AND PERFORMANCE OF THE INDIAN DANCE TRADITION IN ALL ITS MANY FORMS. THEIR TALENTS AS DANCERS, DEVOTION TO BHARATHANATYAM, AMIABLE QUALITIES AND TEACHING ABILITIES HAVE ATTRACTED MANY STUDENTS TO THEM. UNDER THEIR GUIDANCE, ARUNODHAYA'S PERFORMERS EXPLORE THE FULL SPECTRUM OF INDIAN DANCE FROM THE CLASSICAL ELEGANCE OF BHARATHANATYAM, AND COLORFUL EXUBERANCE OF TRADITIONAL FOLK PIECES, TO THE THOROUGHLY CONTEMPORARY EXPRESSION OF MODERN CREATIVE CHOREOGRAPHY. |
Smt. Vasundhara Thomas and Smt. Suhasini ThomasVisiting Instructors and ExaminersWe are honoured to have Smt. Vasundhara Thomas and Smt. Suhasini Thomas from Chennai India as our Visiting Instructors and Examiners. Smt. Vasundhara Thomas is a Retired Faculty member from Kalkshetra and her daughter Smt. Suhasini Thomas is a performing artist and a past faculty and Alumini of Kalakshetra Foundation.
Smt. Kanista SenInstructor (in training)Smt. Kanista Senthan has been with Arunodhaya Dance Academy for 15 years learning under the guidance of her guru Smt. Sashi Aravinth. She joined our school as an intermediate student having learnt the Kalakshetra style at the age of 12 and now, assists as a teacher in training. In 2018, she attended a Bharathanatyam 3 days workshop and learned under the guidance of Smt. Rukmini Vijayakumar, from Bangalore. Currently, she is undergoing advanced Bharatanatyam training with Smt. Sureka Radhakrishnan, post-diploma holder from Kalakshetra in Toronto and founder of Nirthiyalaya and music lessons from Smt. Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan. In addition, Kanista is working towards her online Diploma with Alagappa Performing Arts Academy. She completed her Paralegal Diploma in 2015 and is a licensed Paralegal with the Law Society of Ontario. We are delighted to see Kanista’s dedication and interest to explore and increase her knowledge in this art form.
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