Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy, a Bharatanatyam dance school, celebrated its 25th anniversary at M-A’s Performing Arts Center on Oct. 26. While some M-A students rushed to attend Homecoming in the Ayers Gym, other community members gathered to watch Vishwa Shanthi’s large production titled “Infinite Facets: An Exploration of the Self.”
Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy was founded in 1999 by lead dancer, teacher, choreographer, and Artistic Director Guru Shreelata Suresh, a Bay Area local. Shreelata started Vishwa Shanthi in her family’s garage, but it has since expanded to five branches and trained over 1,000 students.
Shreelata has been dancing since childhood and has performed in over 30 countries. “I don’t know how the audience feels, but it takes me to a different plane of consciousness. It really is something that I lose myself in all the time,” Shreelata said.
Bharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance originating from the temples of South India. It is often used to express Hindu religious stories and devotions by combining rhythm, music, expression, and dance. The dance is extremely intricate—every part of the dancer’s body is involved, from complex footwork to meticulous facial expressions.
“It’s very ancient and spiritual in a way, where we always try to relate that we are one with the Divine and how we can reach the Divine in our own ways. I think that’s what this dance is all about,” Shreelata said.
Shreelata directed and choreographed the show, and her friend and former roommate Asha Ramesh composed the accompanying music. The performance had 10 parts, with dances ranging from representations of Hindu gods to the nine planets in Vedic astrology.
The performance featured 20 dancers from the school who had been rehearsing for the show since August. Putting together such a complex production was a rigorous process, with hours and hours of intense rehearsal. “A lot of our people are solo dancers, so coming together for a group production, you have to be aware of so many more things, like your positions relative to who’s next to you. When practicing, that was probably the hardest part, but I think it came together,” dancer Vani Suresh said.
The theme of the performance centered around unity. “The whole thing started with the fact that there’s so much diversity in the universe, but we all come from the same beginning,” Shreelata said. “Different religions have different ideas of creation, but at the same time we’re all from that same source.”
Many of the dancers have been learning Bharatanatyam since they were young, like Pratibha Sriram, who has been dancing since she was five. “You feel the energy of everyone else putting their best into it, and you see your friends smiling, and it just comes to life,” Sriram said.
“Infinite Facets” won’t be the only part of the academy’s 25th anniversary celebration. They have much more planned for the next year, with updates being posted to their 25th-anniversary celebration page.
