Artistic Director: Vaishali Ramachandran 

Vaishali Ramachandran is a versatile Bharatanatyam artist, teacher, and choreographer with over 25 years of experience. She is the Artistic Director of Dayananda Kalalayam and has trained under esteemed gurus, beginning her journey in Mumbai with Guru Smt. Geeta Venkateshwar and later undergoing intensive training under Guru Dr. Padmaja Suresh in Bangalore, under whose guidance she presented her Arangetram. She is also a company dancer with Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose and has been under the mentorship of Guru Mythili Kumar since 2019. 

Vaishali has performed at major dance festivals across India, Europe, and the USA and has been recognized for her artistry with titles such as “Arsha Kala Ratna” by Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati and most recently “Kala Sreshta” from SIFA Bay Area. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Bharatanatyam and refining her skills in Nattuvangam under the guidance of Sri D.V. Prasanna Kumar. A passionate performer and dedicated educator, Vaishali continues to explore, create, and inspire through her her art.

Musicians

Dr. Arunagiri’s musicality has been shaped by various genres, gurus and maestros. His Carnatic music sensibilities are an amalgamation of  the traditional DK Pattammal school and the classicism of T Brinda school. Dr. Arunagiri was born in New Delhi, to a family where all genres of Indian music were appreciated and promoted – be it abhangs, bhajans, ghazals or film music. He also had the opportunity to learn Sanskrit & Tamil extensively, which attracted him towards Carnatic music to take it up full time and was trained by Vidushi Sita Sundararajan in New Delhi for about 8 years. He also learned Tiruppugazh from Shri AS Raghavan. He also learned elementary Hindustani music under Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty. Yearning to further imbibe music that brims with depth, chasteness and unhurried classicism, Dr. Arunagiri currently is under the tutelage of Shertallay Dr. Renganatha Sharma and performs regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chennai Carnatic music circles. Dr. Arunagiri is the Founder of Swaradigm LLC (pr. as in paradigm) and the non profit Swārasya Foundation, which preserves & propagates, music, arts & languages – both in the interior parts of India and major cities worldwide and recognizes the senior musicians’ works and contribution through the Swārasya Shringam Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ashwin Krishnakumar started training in Carnatic classical flute with Sri. A.V Prakash in Mysore and by Sri. B.N Suresh in Bangalore and recognized with a scholarship from the Central Govt. of India (CCRT) to pursue advanced training in flute. His musical career includes several solo concerts and he has accompanied various classical music, classical dance, light music productions and fundraisers in India and the US. He is furthering his musical interests under the guidance of Dr. T S Sathyavathi – a renowned musicologist and prime disciple of Sri. R K Srikantan.

Natarajan Srinivasan’s mridangam tutelage began under Guru Coimbatore Shri.Ganapathy.  Over the past 9 years, Natarajan has been training under Guru Shri S.V. Ramani, a leading exponent of Mridangam & Ghatam and a senior disciple of mridangam maestro Shri. Guruvayur Dorai. Natarajan’s journey as an accompanist began in the early 1990s, when he was a graduate student at Arizona State University. Natarajan has been a SF Bay Area resident and regular concert performer since 1995. He has accompanied many accomplished and senior artists of the bay area and from India on numerous occasions. Natarajan is the founder of Nandi Laya Vidyalaya, a school for carnatic percussion, with the mission to foster learning and to build enduring passion for this beautiful art. Natarajan’s students have participated and won prizes in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, Papanasam Sivan festival, the University of Silicon Andhra festival and OSAAT. Natarajan’s students are regularly featured as accompanists in student performances at various bay area venues. In 2023, 4 students of Natarajan performed their arangetrams accompanying accomplished senior musicians.

Shruthi Aravindan has pursued Bharathanatyam dance training for over 25 years. She successfully completed her arangetram in August 2008 at the age of 10. Since then, she has been an ardent performer, instructor, nattuvanar, and budding composer. Shruthi’s expertise in dance, music, and rhythm gives her a unique vantage point to synthesize these multiple disciplines in her creative explorations.Shruthi Aravindan has also studied Carnatic music for over 20 years and has performed multiple full-length concerts and kutcheris in the US and in India. Shruthi has provided vocal support for many dance arangetrams and rangepravesams, in addition to multiple productions and programs.Shruthi is the founder and artistic director of Akruthi Performing Arts, a Bharathanatyam school based in San Jose, California. Shruthi currently works as a Senior Systems Engineer at Guardant Health.

Akshaya Karthik, a 10th grader at Cypress High, South California has been learning Carnatic mandolin for over nine years under Sri. U.P. Raju and Smt. U. Nagamani. She has performed at prestigious events like Sankara Matam, SIMA Los Angeles, and iCarnatic and has won top positions in competitions such as Jhankriti, Saptami, HCL Concerts, Veena Mahotsavam, and MYICMF (Malaysia). She recently received the Youth Cultural Ambassador Award from ICPAO and the FOCCA Scholarship from the City of Cypress. Akshaya actively serves as a Youth Committee Member at SIMA, Los Angeles, and completed her arangetram at RR Sabha, Chennai. She also learns Carnatic vocal from Smt. Shubha Narayan and enjoys collaborating in group performances, enriching musical events with her talent.