Nrityakalya Dance Company
Janani Narayanan
Bharathanatyam, is the ancient South Indian classical dance known for its grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses. The classical art form embodies the three primary ingredients of Dance - Expression, Rhyme, and Rhythm.
This mystical art form captivated Janani just when she turned 6. Observing her keen interest in the art form, her parents enrolled her in dance with Guru Usha Datar and Guru Smt Rukmini Srinivasan. In 1995 Janani learnt from one of Bangalore’s renowned Gurus Smt Padmini Ravi and then continued her training with Kiran Subramanyam and Sandhya Kiran. Under their tutelage, her passion and aspirations to become a dancer began to blossom. Opportunities to perform at various avenues, teaching skills, and expanding her knowledge in the art form came in her favor. Under their guidance, Janani performed her Arangetram in Dec 2000.
After her marriage, she moved to the SF Bay Area - one of the best places in the United States for Indian arts. Janani got further training and mentoring from the internationally acclaimed dancer Smt. Vidhya Subramaniam of Lasya Dance Academy and under that banner has performed and participated in Lasya’s notable productions and festivals. She has given many performances in the San Francisco Bay Area, and India. With the finest coaching from distinguished Gurus of leading Banis (Styles) such as Kalakshetra and Vazhuvoor, Janani wisely chooses from both styles in her dance visualization, performance, and choreography. Janani recently got her Master's Degree in Bharathanatyam from the prestigious Madras University in Sept 2023.
As an avid, ardent, and passionate dance practitioner and researcher, Janani now performs, choreographs, and teaches aspiring students at her dance school Nrityakalya Dance Company, in Cupertino, CA. As a gifted artist who enjoys painting and often displays her works at exhibitions and galleries, she also acts in local theater acts. Her artwork can be viewed at www.oviyaa.net.
Ms Janani has experience teaching dance for the past 25-plus years. Since 1998, when she first started assisting and teaching young kids who are now leading dancers in Bharathanatyam, she later continued to assist Smt Vidhya Subramanian at Lasya Dance Company, before establishing her full-fledged dance company in 2010. Her experience in training kids of various generations over the years has also helped gradually pass on the art form in the best possible way to reach the kids and parents of the present generation.
Nandini Ravichandran
Nandini is thrilled to actively be a part of NDC again. She started learning Bharathanatyam in Chennai at Abinaya Natyalaya, the school of Guru Smt. Krishnakumari Narendran. She has performed extensively in many of her dance school's famed group productions staged in Chennai and across India. After her Arangetram in 2006, she presented many solos in Chennai’s leading Sabhas. She also started teaching junior, and senior batches at ABN in 2001. She has trained many students at ABN for their Arangetrams and assisted her teacher on the Nattuvangam as well.
After her move to the US, she became associated with Miss Janani and NDC in 2014. She learned at NDC and also participated in NDC group productions - Baalya and Bhaktha Bala. Nandini also briefly taught at NDC then. She was introduced to Guru Vidhya Subramanian, by Miss Janani, under whose guidance she has trained for the past several years. Nandini cherishes her time knowing Janani and being associated with NDC and is very happy to be a more active member of the NDC family now.
She lives in San Jose with her husband, Vijay, and her puppy, Oreo. She is a biomedical engineer by profession and dabbles in arts (other than dance) quite a bit. She enjoys painting (watercolors, Kerala murals), and also runs a small macrame shop (via Instagram).
Ms Nandini enjoys teaching kids and has been an integral part of students' arangetram training since 2023.
