VARADARANGAM INAUGURAL FESTIVAL FEATURING SRIDEVI NRITHYALAYA

VaradArangam is a non-profit public charity for the promotion of Bharatanatyam and other South Indian classical fine arts. For its inaugural function, VaradArangam is immensely pleased and honored to present the world famous and highly sought after Sheela Unni Sridevi Nrithyalaya’s (SDN) first ever performance in the United States. SDN is renowned for its teaching style, molding young children lovingly into budding artists and talented dancers who are highly honored by various organizations in India and abroad. SDN is also well-known for its captivating, spell-binding Nritta, Nrithya and Abhinaya, outstanding sense of Layam (Rhythm), and spiritual story telling through the wonderful choreography of Dr. Sheela Unnikrishnan who brings alive ancient Indian epics and Vedic philosophy and makes them accessible to the viewers without diluting the essence. Dr. Sheela Unnikrishnan's Bharatanatyam dance ballets have captivated audiences all over and many like Sivamayam, Bala Ramayanam, Sri Krishna Vaibhavam, etc have crossed 100 performances with packed audiences. In addition to teaching, conceiving and producing Bharatanatyam ballets, Sheela Unni and her elite dancers have performed abroad to high acclaim in places such as Norway, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates etc. Four of their dancers have won the Balshree award, the highest honor bestowed by the Govt of India on young artists, and many other national and international awards.

Sridevi Nrithyalaya’s Melattur Margam

SDN’s Melattur Margam is a one-of-a-kind repertoire that includes unique and rare dance numbers that are presented in the glorious Melattur style of Bharathanatyam. Founded by the Maha Guru, Sri Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer, the Melattur style of Bharathanatyam exhibits swift and fluid physical movements powered by crisp and clearly defined footwork with elegant facial expressions and elaborate dramatization. Bhakthi (devotion) and Sringara (love in various forms) are the prominent moods in these presentations.

Dr. Sheela Unnikrishnan has chosen some rare and interesting choreographies to be performed in the Melattur Margam in our ‘SDN in USA tour’ 2024. The repertoire includes captivating compositions of Saint Adi Sankara, Sri Muthuswami Deekshitar, Oothukkadu Venkata Subbaiyar, Sri Pattabhiramayyar etc., along with SDN’s exclusive Suddha Nrittam, Guru Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer’s Tatva Keerthanam and Chitra Natyam. The trio performers of SDN in USA tour 2024, Bhairavi Venkatesan, Mridula Sivakumar and Sanjena Ramesh will present solo, duet and trio performances in SDN’s Melattur Margam.

Early Bird Tickets go on sale 19 June 2024. Prices may go up after 3 Aug 2024 11:45PM.

Group Discount: Buying 10 or more tickets  of Orchestra Premier class gets a $5 discount for each ticket. Limited to 30 tickets per order.