Mythili Kumar
– Artistic Director
Mythili Kumar is the founder and artistic director of Abhinaya Dance Company of San José. An exponent of three different Indian classical dance forms: Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi, Mythili Kumar’s commanding stage presence speaks of many years of rigorous training under skilled teachers in India. Her gurus were Smt. Indra Rajan, Sri T.R. Devanathan and Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan for Bharatanatyam, Sri Vendantam Jagannatha Sharma for Kuchipudi, and Guru Srinath Raut and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra for Odissi.
An accomplished artist, Mythili performed extensively in India before moving to the U.S. in 1978. Her artistic ability and high quality of her dance choreography have been recognized in the U.S. where she has been awarded several Choreographers’ fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1994 and 2007 the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Committee honored her for her outstanding artistry and contribution to world dance. In addition, she was awarded a choreography commission for the festival in 2008. Bharath Kalachar in Chennai awarded her the title “Viswa Kala Bharati” in 1999. In 2002, the Shiva Vishnu Temple awarded her the title Abhinaya Kala Ratna. She has toured with the company to India and other parts of the U.S.
Mythili Kumar has taught Indian dance at Stanford University, San José State University, and University of California, Santa Cruz.
She was honored by World Arts West with a Lifetime Achievement Award in June 2010 and received a “Sustained Achievement Award” by the Bay Area Isadora Duncan Award Committee in March 2011. In addition, Soorya Performing Arts of St. Louis awarded her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2011. Julie Mushet, Executive Director of World Arts West, announced the creation of the “Mythili Kumar Award” to be presented every year at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival to an exceptionally promising upcoming artist. She was the winner of the 2015 Legacy Laureate Award from Silicon Valley Creates for her outstanding dedication to the art form. In 2019, Bharathi Tamil Sangam honoured Mythili Kumar with a title ‘Nadana Shirormani’ for her invaluable contributions to the Bharatanatyam art form. She was honoured with the title “Smaran Kala Kaushala” during the Smaran dance festival and was also honored with the 2019 Inspire Award by India Community center (ICC) the same year. In 2023, Navadharshana Team honored Mythili Kumar with the Title “Nritya Darshini” to recognize her pioneering work in the field of Bharatanatyam.
Photo credit: Viggy Mokkarala
Rasika Kumar
– Principal Artist and Choreographer & Teacher
Rasika Kumar is an accomplished Bharatanatyam performer and choreographer, steeped in tradition but with contemporary sensibilities. She has been the Associate Artistic Director of the Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose (ADC). Rasika learned Bharatanatyam from her mother Mythili Kumar, Artistic Director of ADC and continued her training under renowned teachers including Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekar, Bragha Bessell, and most recently with Mavin Khoo.
Rasika was a featured soloist, principal dancer, and choreographer for all of ADC’s performance seasons from 2005 to 2016. Her innovative solo, group and collaborative choreography has been featured throughout the SF Bay Area and abroad, earning her an Arts Council of Silicon Valley Performing Arts Fellowship (2008), Isadora Duncan Awards (2011 – Music/Sound/Text – Collaborative rhythmic arrangement with San Jose Taiko, 2018 – Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Abhinaya Dance Company’s Vaanara Leela), and Lakshmi Viswanathan Award (2014) for Tanjore Quartet from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India) for her solo performance. Rasika Kumar first premiered Shakti Unveiled (now, Unbound) in 2017.
Malavika Kumar Walia
– Director, Junior Dance Company, Company Dancer, Choreographer, & Musician (Nattuvangam)
Malavika Kumar Walia is the daughter and student of Mythili Kumar. As a senior company dancer, choreographer, and teacher, she has been teaching, dancing and performing nattuvangam (art of conducting the orchestra with cymbals and vocalizing rhythms) for arangetrams and company productions since 2000. In a 2004 performance in Chennai, she was lauded by a critic as ‘the star of the show’ for her ‘precise, well-intoned nattuvangam’. She has performed in many of Abhinaya Dance Company’s productions with key roles and has toured with the company to India and around the U.S.A. She also coaches students towards their Arangetrams (solo debut performances). She has also composed numerous jathis and choreographed items for solo and group performances. In January 2020, she was appointed as the Director of the newly launched Junior Dance Company.
Lakshmi Venkatesan
– Teacher
Lakshmi Venkatesan learned Bharatanatyam for over ten years from Mythili Kumar, and performed her arangetram in 2005. She has participated in several Abhinaya’s dance productions since her arangetram. Some of the notable productions she has danced in, are ‘Rivers- A mystical Journey’, ‘Prithvi-the Earth’ and the 30th anniversary performances in 2010. She has performed for various local community organizations and events, schools, and temples. She has been teaching classes for Abhinaya and mentoring students for their Arangetrams for over 15 years. She also regularly assists with coordinating and leading student performances at local community events.
Kavita Varadarajan
– Teacher
Kavita began learning Bharatanatyam at the age of 7 under the guidance of Smt. Mythili Kumar. She performed her Arangetram in 2008 and participated in several company shows including Shiva- The Cosmic Dancer(2004), Multi-Splendored Ramayana(2006), My Favorite Story(2007), and Mayil Adum Alagam (2008), Rivers (2009). She graduated from college in 2014 and has been teaching since 2020.
Aishwarya Venkat
– Teacher & Company Dancer
Aishwarya Venkat was trained in Bharatanatyam by Kalaimamani Thanjavur Rajalakshmi in India. She has a Diploma in Fine arts from Kalai Kaviri Institute, and has staged more than 25 solo performances in renowned institutions in India. She is a freelance performer and has performed with the company since 2015. She has been teaching for Abhinaya since 2016, and conducts 4 hours of weekly classes.
Pooja Sohoni
– Teacher & Company Dancer
Pooja Sohoni trained under Mythili Kumar and performed her arangetram in 2007. She participated in Abhinaya’s 30th anniversary series in 2010. In 2017, she returned to the Bay Area and has performed in productions such as Abhinaya’s ‘Gandhi’ in St. Louis, MO , & San Ramon, CA; ‘Apoorva Katha’ (2017); in the Drive East Festival in New York in 2018 and Abhinaya productions in 2019 and 2020. She has been teaching classes for Abhinaya since 2017 and also mentors students towards their Arangetrams.
Vaishali Ramachandran
– Production & Marketing Coordinator & Company Dancer
Vaishali Ramachandran has been a student, performer, and teacher of Bharatanatyam for over 20 years. She began her training at the age of four in Mumbai, then trained for 16 years in Bengaluru with Guru Dr. Padmaja Suresh. She has performed in many major dance festivals in India and USA and is a resident of Fremont California, USA, where she continues to teach and perform. She has been the Administrative & Marketing Coordinator since 2019.
Anjana Dasu
– Choreographer, Teacher & Company Dancer
Anjana Dasu has been learning Bharatanatyam under Mythili Kumar for over ten years and performed her Arangetram in 2005. Since then and all through her undergraduate years, she has performed in several Abhinaya productions and toured with the company to New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Utah, St. Louis, Boston, and Indianapolis. Additionally she has danced with the company at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. Critics have praised her as “exquisite” and “a nuanced dancer with glowing stage presence.” She was awarded the first prize in the Papanasam Sivan competition held in 2008, and gave a solo concert under the auspices of Yuva Bharati in February 2009, as well as a very well-received solo performance in Hyderabad in December 2011. In 2009, Anjana presented her own group choreography at the annual Yuva Bharati ‘Kalpana’ concert. She has mentored several students towards their arangetrams.
Vaishali Ramachandran – Production & Marketing Coordinator & Company Dancer
Vaishali Ramachandran has been a student, performer, and teacher of Bharatanatyam for over 20 years. She began her training at the age of four in Mumbai, then trained for 16 years in Bengaluru with Guru Dr. Padmaja Suresh. She has performed in many major dance festivals in India and USA and is a resident of Fremont California, USA, where she continues to teach and perform. She has been the Administrative & Marketing Coordinator since 2019.
Pooja Sohoni – Teacher & Company Dancer
Pooja Sohoni trained under Mythili Kumar and performed her arangetram in 2007. She participated in Abhinaya’s 30th anniversary series in 2010. In 2017, she returned to the Bay Area and has performed in productions such as Abhinaya’s ‘Gandhi’ in St. Louis, MO , & San Ramon, CA; ‘Apoorva Katha’ (2017); in the Drive East Festival in New York in 2018 and Abhinaya productions in 2019 and 2020. She has been teaching classes for Abhinaya since 2017 and also mentors students towards their Arangetrams.
Aishwarya Venkat – Teacher & Company Dancer
Aishwarya Venkat was trained in Bharatanatyam by Kalaimamani Thanjavur Rajalakshmi in India. She has a Diploma in Fine arts from Kalai Kaviri Institute, and has staged more than 25 solo performances in renowned institutions in India. She is a freelance performer and has performed with the company since 2015. She has been teaching for Abhinaya since 2016, and conducts 4 hours of weekly classes.
Lakshmi Venkatesan – Teacher
Lakshmi Venkatesan learned Bharatanatyam for over ten years from Mythili Kumar, and performed her arangetram in 2005. She has participated in several Abhinaya’s dance productions since her arangetram. Some of the notable productions she has danced in, are ‘Rivers- A mystical Journey’, ‘Prithvi-the Earth’ and the 30th anniversary performances in 2010. She has performed for various local community organizations and events, schools, and temples. She has been teaching classes for Abhinaya and mentoring students for their Arangetrams for over 15 years. She also regularly assists with coordinating and leading student performances at local community events.
Rasika Kumar – Primary Choreographer, Soloist
Rasika Kumar is a Bharatanatyam performer and choreographer, steeped in tradition but with contemporary sensibilities. She studied under her mother Mythili Kumar, Artistic Director of ADC, and other renowned teachers. Since 2005, Rasika has been a soloist, principal dancer, and choreographer for all of ADC’s performance seasons. Her choreography has been featured in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and SF WestWave Festival and has earned her an Arts Council of Silicon Valley Performing Arts Fellowship (2008). Rasika’s collaborative rhythmic arrangement with Franco Imperial of San Jose Taiko garnered an Isadora Duncan Award (2011). She won the Lakshmi Viswanathan Award from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India) for her solo performance in the 2014 season.
Photo credit: Jane Hu (janehu.com)
Malavika Kumar Walia – Director, Junior Dance Company, Company Dancer, Choreographer, & Musician (Nattuvangam)
Malavika Kumar Walia is the daughter and student of Mythili Kumar. As a senior company dancer, choreographer, and teacher, she has been teaching, dancing and performing nattuvangam (art of conducting the orchestra with cymbals and vocalizing rhythms) for arangetrams and company productions since 2000. In a 2004 performance in Chennai, she was lauded by a critic as ‘the star of the show’ for her ‘precise, well-intoned nattuvangam’. She has performed in many of Abhinaya Dance Company’s productions with key roles and has toured with the company to India and around the U.S.A. She also coaches students towards their Arangetrams (solo debut performances). She has also composed numerous jathis and choreographed items for solo and group performances. In January 2020, she was appointed as the Director of the newly launched Junior Dance Company.
Anjana Dasu – Choreographer, Teacher & Company Dancer
Anjana Dasu has been learning Bharatanatyam under Mythili Kumar for over ten years and performed her Arangetram in 2005. Since then and all through her undergraduate years, she has performed in several Abhinaya productions and toured with the company to New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Utah, St. Louis, Boston, and Indianapolis. Additionally she has danced with the company at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. Critics have praised her as “exquisite” and “a nuanced dancer with glowing stage presence.” She was awarded the first prize in the Papanasam Sivan competition held in 2008, and gave a solo concert under the auspices of Yuva Bharati in February 2009, as well as a very well-received solo performance in Hyderabad in December 2011. In 2009, Anjana presented her own group choreography at the annual Yuva Bharati ‘Kalpana’ concert. She has mentored several students towards their arangetrams.
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