Shobha Subramanian is an award winning dancer-teacher-singer-choreographer who has studied dance under senior gurus of India (Mrs. Sundari Seshadri, Dhananjayans, Professor CV Chandrashekhar, & Kalamandalam Usna Banu) and has toured and performed widely in India, Europe, U.S.A., & Africa. She is the three-time winner of Individual Artist Award from the state of Maryland. As Dance Director of the Jayamangala School of Dance, Shobha has presented more than 50 student Arangetrams, several dance dramas, and two mega dance conferences in Maryland. She holds a graduate degree MFA in Theatre from Towson University and her choreography brings out “innovation within tradition”. She has collaborated with the National Ballet in Maryland and Barefeet Theater dancers in Africa to produce multi-cultural performances. She has organized international performance tours to Zambia, India, and Greece. For the past three years, she has been teaching an undergraduate course titled Introduction to Indian Dance at University of Maryland Baltimore County. Shobha is the recipient of several titles and awards in India, such as Nritya Shivali, Natya Saradhi, and Nrithya Ratna.
Jaya Bala obtained her initial vocal training from her mother, Mrs. Rajalakshmi Krishnan, who is a direct disciple of Chembai Sri Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. Her musical training was enhanced by her studies in Delhi University, where she obtained the title of Sangeetha Siromani. She is an eminent representative of India in international festivals and has performed for numerous programs in India, Malaysia, Bulgaria, France and the USA. For over 25 years, she has been a solo concert singer and an accompanying vocalist for Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dance performances. She has sung for dance stalwarts, such as Sonal Mansingh, Raja Radha Reddy, Dhananjayans, and former film actress Meenakshi Seshadri. Having received grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, she has conducted several workshops and lecture demonstrations nationwide. In 2007, she curated Jayamangala’s first interdisciplinary music symphony “Music Transcends”, featuring Indian classical and Western classical musicians. Jaya currently teaches Carnatic Vocal Music to students in Maryland through online classes.
Srinath Bala is a versatile percussionist with varied styles blended rhythmically into one. Having been initiated by Late Sri. Krishnan (Palghat Sri Mani Iyer style), he received intensive guidance under Sri. R. Ramesh (Karaikudi Mani Style) in Chennai, and later, under Maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. To his credit, he has uniquely combined the kanaku and nadam aspects from various gurus. He has accompanied the topmost senior artists performing in India, Canada and the US, and also played in Jugalbandis and TalaVadya Concerts to showcase the solo percussion aspects. He has various recordings and has given lecture- demonstrations on ‘LAYAM’. In 2006, he presented a TalaVadya concert titled Music Through Membranes. Being a recipient of the PG Arts award and MSAC Artist Awards, he is a very well sought after artist for Music and Dance Concerts. He has been teaching students for the past 23 years and successfully trained many students, who currently play Mridangam, Ghatam, and Khanjheera actively in various music circles. His passion in music led him to create esishya.com, an online portal to impart music classes. To learn more about Srinath, visit his website.
Sandhya Srinath is an innately talented artist who showcases her true talent in every bow. A gold medalist in her masters program in music and an early A-grade awardee for the All India Radio, Sandhya has firmly established the school of Late Shri V. Janakiraman of AIR, Delhi. She learnt, and skillfully absorbed the styles of maestros, late Shri. Lalgudi G Jayaraman and Prof. T.N. Krishnan within her. Along with top solo performances worldwide, she has also accompanied many senior musicians and dancers. Some of her coveted awards include the Best Young Violinist, Chennai, India; Individual Artist Award from PG Arts Council, MD, USA and the MD State Arts Council Individual Artist Award. She has been awarded the titles, ‘Nada Brahma Kalanidhi’, ‘Nadha Brahma Kalaimani’ and ‘Vaadhya Kala Bharati.’ Known for her precise technique and sensitive renditions, she is a very highly sought after artist. She has numerous recordings to her credit and her versatility has led her to take on instrumental ensembles, jugalbandis with Hindustani artists, and fusion concerts with western musicians. She actively teaches Violin to students worldwide. For more information and audio recordings, visit Sandhya’s website.
Aishwarya Subramanian has been trained in Bharatanatyam and Carnatic Music from a very young age by her mother-guru Shobha Subramanian and grandmother Jaya Bala, respectively. She completed her Bharatanatyam Arangetram in June 2010 and has performed at various events and festivals worldwide. She has participated in workshops with esteemed visiting gurus and has enhanced her talents in performance, teaching, and choreography as a member of several teams, groups, and ensembles. She frequently provides nattuvangam and vocal support for Jayamangala arangetrams and currently teaches Bharatanatyam to students of Jayamangala through online classes. Aishwarya is an interdisciplinary practitioner, artist, and mental health expressive arts therapist based in the Bay Area. To learn more about her work and offerings, visit Aishwarya’s website.
Lakshmi Santhanam has been learning Carnatic music from the age of 8. She has learned music from Smt. Jaya Bala and has performed with Jayamangala for the past 12 years at various venues and events, including Nadatarangini Festival, Swati Tirunal Day, Dikshitar Day Celebrations, Thyagaraja Aradhana, etc. She currently teaches Carnatic music to beginner-level students in Maryland.
Akshaya Anand has been learning Bharatanatyam for over fifteen years. She has performed at numerous cultural events and dance dramas in the DC metro area with Jayamangala Dance Company. Akshaya has competed at national level Indian Classical Dance Competitions as part of her university’s competing Classical Indian Dance team UMD Moksha. In addition to Bharatanatyam, Akshaya is exploring other forms of dance, such as Salsa and Swing dancing. Akshaya is a graduate from University of Maryland, College Park, with degrees in Computer Science and Biology and she currently teaches advanced-level Bharatanatyam students at Jayamangala.
Aditi Bhandari has been in Bharatanatyam for 15 years, and completed her arangetram in 2019. Aditi has performed solo and in groups at numerous multicultural events in the DC/Maryland area. Aditi’s strong dancing skills are complemented by ability to juggle multiple activities. She is currently a rising senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, and will graduate in 2023 with a double major in Physiology and Neurobiology & Anthropology. Aditi currently teaches intermediate-level Bharatanatyam students at Jayamangala.
Sejal Sinha has been learning Bharatanatyam since she was 5, and successfully completed her Arangetram in 2018. She has been with Jayamangala for several years, performing at many cultural events in the Metro DC area. In addition to Bharatanatyam, she loves exploring other dance styles such as Hip-Hop, Contemporary. She did this as a member of UMD’s South Asian fusion dance team, Maryland Dhoom, for which she was a captain the past year. Sejal recently graduated in May with a degree in Physiology and Neurobiology and minor in Spanish. She currently teaches Bharatanatyam to intermediate-level students at Jayamangala.