Mrs. Prabha Ravi QSM, JP, Director

Mrs. Prabha Ravi started to learn dance from the age of 3, under Guru Kalaimamani Krishnakumari Narendran. After her Arangetram (Graduation) at the age of 9, she continued her advanced training under Guru Udupi Sri Lakshminarayan. She has been performing in public from the age of five and has enacted various characters in dance dramas and ballets. She has more than 100 solo performances to her credit, under reputed Sabhas in Chennai. She has also preformed in Canada, USA, Sri Lanka and New Zealand at various festivals.

Her career as a dance teacher has spanned more than 2 decades. She has choreographed and directed a number of dance pieces and dance ballets, proving to be a successful dance teacher and a choreographer. She has also conducted many workshops and seminars on Bharatanatyam in India and New Zealand.

She was conferred the Civic Honour Award for her contribution to art and culture by Hutt city council in 2011. In June 2012, she received another Community Group Cultural Award from Upper Hutt Multi Ethnic Council for contributions to art and culture in Upper Hutt.

In 2016, she was the finalist for the Wellingtonian of the Year award in the Education category and recently in June 2017, she was awarded the Queen Services Medal for her services to dance and ethnic communities.

 

Miss. Radhika Ravi, Graduate and Dance Teacher

Radhika started learning dance at the age of 3 under her Guru and mother Mrs. Prabha Ravi.  In 2009, at the age of 14, Radhika completed her Arangetram (Graduation) in Wellington.  Radhika’s Arangetram was the first of its kind in Wellington where she performed her repertoire with an entire live orchestra team in front of an appreciative audience.   

 

Throughout her years as a dancer she has given several solo and group performances at various shows and events across New Zealand, India and the USA.  She has over 200 performances to her credit and has enacted numerous characters in dance dramas and ballets.  Radhika has a natural flair for dance and is particularly skilled in dances which involve intricate footwork and fast paced steps.

 

After her Arangetram, Radhika became a trained teacher at the school and from 2013 onwards, she has been a permanent part time teacher.  She thoroughly enjoys teaching students of all ages and is very passionate about showcasing this beautiful art form to the community.  Radhika believes that Bharatanatyam isn’t just an art form but a part of her every day life.  The mental discipline, physical fitness, life lessons, spirituality, Hindu stories, body movements and classical music are just starters to what Bharatanatyam has to offer she says.

 

Recently, Radhika has also started to conduct Bharatanatyam workshops at the annual DANZ Week in Wellington.  In 2013, she won the “Tamizh Mani Award” for her services in dance to the Tamil Communities of Wellington and was also one of the finalists in the Hutt City Youth Awards for Tolerance and Diversity in 2015.

 

Trainee Teacher – Miss. Mathusha Paraneetharan

Currently we also have one trainee teacher Mathusha, who assists with the classes every Saturday.  Mathusha is our most recent graduate and a very talented dancer. She started learning dance from the age of 5 and graduated at the age of 14 in December, 2016. She is currently undergoing advanced dance training at the school while also learning to become a teacher under the able guidance of Mrs. Prabha Ravi.

is an Indian Classical Dance School based in Lower Hutt established in 1999 by Mrs. Prabha Ravi; Founder, Director and Choreographer. The school specializes in teaching Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms of India in the Pandanallur and Kancheepuram Ellappa style.