Rāsa Vilāsa - Facets of Krishna

Rāsa Vilāsa — Bharatanatyam Margam

I cordially invite you to Rasa Vilasa — Facets of Krishna Through Dance, a solo Bharatanatyam recital. The program explores the many faces of Krishna: playful, tender, cosmic, elusive. Srinidhi brings years of study under Acharya Smt. Anwesha Das to deliver a performance filled with nuanced storytelling and classical technique. Please join for an evening of rasa, rhythm, and reverence.

What to expect

• A full solo Bharatanatyam performance, running 3:30–5:30pm, featuring a structured repertoire built around the theme of Krishna's many aspects, from his playful, mischievous side to his role as the ultimate object of devotion and longing.
• A mix of pure rhythmic dance (nritta) and expressive storytelling (abhinaya). No prior familiarity with Bharatanatyam or Krishna bhakti traditions needed to follow along; the emotional arc is built to be legible to newcomers as well as connoisseurs.
• Live music featuring local Bay Area artists alongside Acharya Smt. Anwesha Das, disciple of Kalanidhi Smt. Urmila Sathyanarayanan.

Ticket sales will go directly to the musicians and a portion of the proceeds will support Shankara Eye Foundation. Srinidhi and her fellow artists thank you so much for your support and generosity. If you're unable to make it on the day of the show but would still like to support Shankara Eye Foundation or the artists, we encourage you to purchase tickets as a donation.

For information about donating directly to Shankara Eye Foundation or for any other inquiries, please reach out to Srinidhi.

About the Artists

Kum. Srinidhi Srinivasan is a Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer. She has been studying the art form for over twenty years under multiple gurus, including Guru Smt. Subhashini Santhanam and currently under Acharya Smt. Anwesha Das in Seattle. Srinidhi has performed in India and the US and has also been a member of multiple companies and dance productions such as ‘Rhythm’ with Project Convergence, ‘Chakras,’ with Sarada Kala Nilayam’, and Smaran Dance Festival 2025.

Acharya Smt. Anwesha Das is a Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher trained in the Vazhavoor bani lineage, tracing her artistic lineage through Kalanidhi Smt. Urmila Sathyanarayanan to grand guru K.J. Sarasa. She is the founder and director of Natya Shakti, a Bharatanatyam studio based in Bothell, Washington, where she trains students in classical technique, repertoire, and the deeper interpretive traditions of abhinaya.

Smt. Akshaya Arunkumar is an All India Radio graded Carnatic Vocalist. She began her musical training under Padma Shri Bombay Sisters (Late Smt. Lalitha Chandran), and continued her tutelage with Smt. Shankari Krishnan. Akshaya actively performs as vocalist for solo and ensemble dance productions across India and USA. Akshaya is also a Doordardhan graded, an ICCR and SPIC Macay empaneled Bharatanatyam Artist. She has been recognized and honored with the following awards : “Yuva Kala Bharathi” from Bharat Kalachar, “Natya Chudar” from Kartik Fine Arts, “Natya Rathna” from Trinity Fine Arts.

Shri. Keerthivasan Krishnan studies Carnatic violin and vocal at a young age under the tutelage of Smt. Anuradha Sridhar, Founder and Director of Trinity Center for Music. He continues to learn under the Tutelage of Smt. Sandhya Srinath, Co-Founder and Director of Vaadhya Vidhyaalayam School of Music. He frequently accompanies and gives solo performances around the Bay Area, National Carnatic Circuits, and in Chennai. He also participates in various dance production orchestras in the Bay Area.

Shri. Shiva Radhakrishnan Iyer is a mridangam artist, performer and teacher. Shiva studied mridangam under the late Vid Sri N. Govindarajan and Vid Sri V. V. Ramanamurthy, with further training from Vid Sri Patri Satish Kumar. Shiva has performed extensively in Chennai, New York, and the Bay Area. He regularly accompanies carnatic music recitals and bharatanatyam recitals in the Bay Area.

Shri. Paddu Vedam began learning the flute from Shri. T. N. Sivakumar, a disciple of late Shri. Flute Mali. He currently takes advanced training from Flute Shri. V. K. Raman, a disciple of Shri. N. Ramani. Paddu runs the Bay Area chapter of IAACM (Indo-American Academy of Classical Music) that was founded by his guru. He also teaches flute at the Raaga School of Music, and has several students of all ages from all over the United States.