Kuchipudi Arangetram Of Sahiti

Rasamayi is organising the Kuchipudi arangetram of Sahiti on Sunday, the 3rd August, at 6pm at Ravindra Bharathi.



Her guru, Vedantham Satya Narasimha Sastry, will accompany her on the nattuvangam. Other accompanying artistes are Sangeetha Kala on vocals, Sridhar Chary on the mridangam, Pavan Singh on the violin, A Ramamohan on the flute, and Srikanth on the tabla. Sahiti's make up will be done by Varma.



The Chief Guest for the evening is Dr. C Narayana Reddy (Padmabhushan awardee). Padmasri Dr. Shobha Naidu (Principal, Devi Kuchipudi Art Academy) and Murali Mohan (film actor and producer) are other guests, and M K Ashalata (Member, Censor Board) will host the program.



The program will begin with Vinayaka Koutwam, set to Adi talam in Gowla & Arabhi ragas, and written by Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna. Then, Sahiti will move on to Ananda Tandavam, an item written by C Narayana Reddy, set to Ragamalika ragam and Adi talam. An Annamacharya keertana, Vachenu Alamelu Manga, set to Hindola ragam and Adi talam, will follow this piece. Next up, is Bhamakalapam (Pravesa Dharuvu), written by Siddendra Yogi, in the Bhairavi ragam and set to Misra Chapu talam. The final item of the evening will be Marakatha Manimyachela, written by Uttukuda Venkata Subbaiah, set to Sankarabharanam & Arabhi ragams, in the Adi talam.



Sahiti is the daughter of Padma Madi Reddy and Dr. Vishnu Madi Reddy, and showed a keen interest in fine arts, specially dance, at a very young age. She has been performing on stage since she was three and half years of age, initially starting with light classical and folk dances.



She learned Bharatanatyam for a year, and switched to Kuchipudi later. She was the disciple of Hema Yaddanapudi (USA). She has performed in cultural events conducted by TAGC and TTA, both Telugu cultural organizations in Chicago. She also participated in an event by ATA (the American Telugu Association). Her crowing glory so far, was performing in San Jose in a dance drama. She has also found her place in the Guiness Book of World Records.



In addition to her being a talented dancer, Sahiti is good at academics. She has constantly maintained a grade point average of 4 during almost all her schooling, and was also chosen as a valedictorian of her 8th grade class this year.



Currently, Sahiti's guru is Vedantam Satya Narasimha Sastry. He is the son and disciple of Vedantam Radhesyam, and has given more than 800 solo and balled performances all over India. He has played a variety of roles that include Prahlada, Siva, Narada, Sutradhari, Gadadhara, and Annamayya. He is the proud recipient of a scholarship from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Narasimha Sastry also underwent intensive training under the famous Kuchipudi Gurus, Padmabhushan Vempati China Satyam and Vedantam Rattaiah Sarma.



An OBA in Kuchipudi dance, Narasimha Sastry also holds a PG Diploma in Yaksha Ganam, and a Diploma in Kuchipudi Dance from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University. He has acquired proficiency in vocal music, the mridangam and the nattuvangam. As a teacher, he has trained many students, some of whom went on to win National Awards like the Bala Sri from the President of India.



Narasimha Sastry himself is the recipient of prestigious awards and honours that include Ugadi Puraskaram form the Government Of AP, felicitations for Nritya Bharati (Eluru) and a Plaque of Honour at the International Theatre Festival held at Cuttack, and Special Appreciation Certificates from the Ministry Of HRD (Govt. Of India) and from the Ministry Of Culture (Govt. Of AP). He also performed in Kuchipudi utsavs in the US in June 2008, for the Guiness Book of World Records.



Entry to the event is by invitation. Please contact M K Ramu at 98480-14793 for further details.