Jointly present Sunday, October 22, 2006, West Hall Auditorium, RPI, Troy, NY Suggested Donations: Patron-$100, Sponsor-$50, General-$12, Students-$5, RPI Students- Free See overleaf for Bio-Data of artists and Directions. Thiyagarajan, S: Kasi Krishnan: For more information: Pallavi of Capital District and RPI Graduate Indian Students Association Social Hour: 1.30 PM Concert 2:00 PM Vasantha Krishnan Founder Director and Choreographer BY NRITHYALAYA FOUNDATION School of Indian Classical Dance and Music, Montreal, Canada. BHARATANATYAM CLASSICAL DANCE Vocal – Ananda Prasad Violin – JaiShankar Mridangam - SriRam This project is made possible in part through COMMUNITY ART$ GRANTS- A program funded through the State, Local Partnership Program of the New York State Council on the Arts and the Arts Center of the Capital Region. Aditya Bengali:

Vasantha Krishnan was trained in India in the Kalakshetra style of Bharata Natyam. She emphasized on the precise rendering of adavus and also the ultimate focus on Bhakthi. Vasantha Krishnan is the Director of Nrithyalaya School of South Indian classical dance and Music, which she founded in Montreal in With such a rich educational background in that artistic heritage, she became one of the prime forces in spreading and enlivening the art of Bharata Natyam or the South Indian Classical Dance in Canada and United States. Since then, Nrithyalaya Foundation and the School of Classical Dance and Music has flourished under Vasantha Krishnan. As Founder and Director, she inspired and has over the years produced a stream of young graduates who have done the school and the community so proud. As classical dance teacher, choreographer and performer, Vasantha Krishnan’s creativity and enthusiasm has introduced new pieces at every occasion. Since then, she has achieved renown locally and abroad for her teaching skills and excellence in choreography.. Ananda Prasad has been with Nrithyalaya since 1989, teaching Carnatic music and Mridangam, creating musical compositions for Nrithyalaya School of Indian Classical Dance and Music and accompanying dance performances. He started learning Mridangam at the age of six from Sangeetha Bhushanam A.S. Ramanathan at the Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts in Sri Lanka. At the age of sixteen, Ananda Prasad performed his Mridangam Arangetram (graduation performance). He earned Sangeetha Rathnam diploma in Mridangam from the Ramanathan Academy in He is an accomplished vocalist who has developed the God given gift of Music by himself..He is also a music composer, poet, and short story writer. He has composed many dance pieces that have been performed by Nrithyalaya School of Indian Classical Dance and Music. During the Nrithyalaya’s tour of India in 1995, his versatility as a vocalist, lyricist and percussionist was demonstrated in performances before the artistic communities in India. A poet with a passion, Ananda Prasad has published a collection of Tamil poems “Suya Darisanam” or self realization. Jai Shankar had his training at a very young age from Mrs. Alamelu Subramanian, a renowned violinist. He is currently under guidance from Madurai Sundar. He has worked with all the leading stalwarts in the Carnatic arena including Dr Ramani, Nedanuri Krishnamoorthy, Dr, K J Yesudas, T.N. Seshagopalan, and others. He has performed extensively all over the world and was invited to perform at the United Nations in Paris for the last UN Meeting of the century in He has also represented India in major Cultural festivals including the “Festival of India” in the USSR and the” Festival of India” in the Middle East. He is also a graded artist of AIR (All India Radio).Besides being a performer, he is actively involved in teaching this art to many students. Academically, he holds a Masters in Computer Science and a MBA in He has performed at many of Nrithyalaya’s programs. SriRam Krishnan, son of Mrs. Vasantha Krishnan, learnt Mridangam from his childhood from Sri Ananda Prasad and has regularly performed at all Nrithyalaya’s programs and at other places in Canada. Aside from Mridangam, SriRam is also well versed with Drums and Guitar. Reviews: For detailed reviews about Vasantha Krishnan of Nrithyalaya and about Ananda Prasad, please visit their website Directions to West Hall: Please visit Click on Calendar. Open the link to West Hall for directions.