Bharatanatyam: Indian Classical Dance

Step into one of the world’s oldest living dance traditions. Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form originating in the temples of Tamil Nadu, weaves precise footwork, sculptural hand gestures (mudras), facial expression (abhinaya), and intricate rhythm into a single language of storytelling. Each movement carries centuries of meaning, drawn from Hindu mythology, devotional poetry, and the everyday joys and struggles of human life.

Guru Anupriya Krishnan is an accomplished Bharatanatyam artist with over three decades of experience. Trained under renowned masters, including Padmabhushan Shobana Chandrakumar, she has performed extensively in prestigious music and dance festivals in India and the Greater Dayton and Cincinnati areas for 20 years. She holds a Master’s in Bharatanatyam from Tamil University, Tanjore, a diploma in Nattuvangam under Dr. Guru Bharadwaj, and a double Master’s in Engineering. She works at Wright State University while continuing to inspire and mentor the next generation of dancers.

Her apprentice Sangamitra “Sangu” Reshmy graduated from Bentonville West High School with the Class of 2026 and will attend the University of Arkansas this fall. She has been practicing Bharatanatyam for over 10 years under Guru Krishnan and is currently pursuing her Junior Diploma. Beyond dance, Reshmy volunteers at the Bentonville Public Library, where she serves on the Teen Advisory Board.

Together, master and apprentice bring this living tradition to The Common Thread Stage with a performance built on the classic Bharatanatyam vocabulary: rhythmic footwork patterns, expressive abhinaya, and stories told entirely through gesture and eye.

An invitation to witness how Arkansas is home to many cultural traditions, and how the cultivation of those traditions, generation by generation, keeps them vibrantly alive.