Annika's Arangetram
July15th , 2023
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center

About Annika

ANNIKA RAJ

Annika Raj is a 14-year-old freshman at Biotechnology High School, Monmouth County Vocational School District. She started learning dance at the age of 6 under the guidance of Guru Suba Parmar and has also been a disciple of Guru Swamimalai K. Suresh for the last 3 years. Annika has shown academic excellence throughout her school years, including her rigorous freshman year of high school. She was editor-in-chief of her middle school newspaper and the winner of the Best Student in Literacy award as part of her graduating class of 2022.

Apart from dance, Annika’s passions include theater, singing, debating, creative writing, technology, politics, podcasts, and karate. These interests shine through in her extracurricular and volunteer activities. As a member of the Holmdel Theater Guild, she has been part of several productions, including The Addams Family, Empowered, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the Spring Festival of Student Works. She loved being a part of the production team as the assistant properties manager for Once on This Island, Phoenix Productions. Currently, she is an active member of the Arts and Entertainment Club, Technology Student Association, Junior State of America, and Freshman Student Council at her high school and has won awards and recognition at the national level. She is a first-degree junior black belt in karate and is fiercely working towards her senior black belt. Her passion for levelling the playing field in all areas of STEAM led her to join the teen board of SteamPark Inc., a non-profit in Monmouth County that aims to provide educational, emotional, and wellness support to kids in need. She plans to incorporate her love for the performing arts and theater, along with science, into the "A" aspect of STEAM and bring about change in the lives of underprivileged children in her local community in Monmouth County.

Gurus

Annika Raj has had the wonderful opportunity to learn Bhartanatyam under the auspices of Guru Smt. Suba Parmar and Shri.Swamimalai K Suresh

Founder and Artistic Director Shubanjali School of Perfoming Arts

Suba Parmar

Guru Suba Parmar, the founder of Shubanjali, is a highly sought-after dancer, teacher, and choreographer in NJ. She is the direct disciple of Kalaimamani Guru Indra Rajan and Pandanallur Srinivasa Pillai, respected doyens of the Pandanallur tradition. Guru Suba is recognized as a pioneer in the arts community, and her original artistic creations like ‘Santa N’ Shiva,’ ‘Splash the Wonder,’ ‘Chauladevi,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Lured by the Myths’, ‘Oneness’, ‘Tribute to the Legends’, ‘Tattva Tapas Tejas" and "TATHASTU," among many others, have received rave reviews from critics and connoisseurs. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the US Presidential Scholars "Most Influential Teacher Award", presented by the Obama Administration, the Balasaraswati Award of Excellence from Mauthamizh Peravai, the "New Jersey Naatya Kalanidhi," and the most recent "Lifetime Achievement Award'' from Spandana, NJ. Her brainchild, Shubanjali, is celebrating its 30th year in the US and will successfully present its 125th graduation in 2023.

Co-Aritistic Director Shubanjali School of Performing Arts

Swamimalai K Suresh

Guru Swamimalai K. Suresh, Director of Samarpana Academy of Fine Arts, Chennai, and Artistic Director, Shubanjali, NJ, hails from a traditional family of nattuvanars and musicians. His father and guru, Pandanallur P.V. Kalidas, is a renowned Nagaswara vidwan of the Pandanallur lineage. His great-grandfather, Pandanallur Guruswamy Pillai, was an Ashtavadani, meaning he could concentrate on eight different activities at a given time. Guru Suresh is the fifth-generation artist in his family. He is the grand-nephew and disciple of veteran Guru Swamimalai S.K. Rajarathnam, under whom he mastered Bharatanatyam, vocal, and nattuvangam. He is also a senior disciple of violin maestro Shri. Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. Guru Suresh is an accomplished dancer, singer, choreographer, and nattuvanar and is the recipient of several awards, including the Kanchi Kamakotipeetam Asthana Vidwan Title from Kanchi Shankaracharya and Ustad Bismillah Khan YUVA PURASKAR from Sangeet Natak Academy, Natya Sangeetha Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar, Chennai, and the most recent "Service Award" from Spandana, NJ.

Orchestra

Annika's dance performance will feature a live orchestra with artists from India. The featured artists are

Shri Gomathi Nayagam : Vocal
Shri Sakthivel Muruganatham : Mridangam
Shri Sigamani Natarajan : Violin
Shri Sankarapillai Sunilkumar : Flute

Shri Gomathy Nayagam

Vocalist

Gomathy Nayagam started learning Carnatic music and trained rigorously for about five years under the guidance of Guru. Sangeetha Kalanidhi B. Rajam Iyer. He continued his learning by taking advanced training under Smt. Ramani Baskar. He started to sing professionally at the tender age of 13 in the presence of eminent singers like R. Vedavalli, O.S. Thyagarajan, etc., He completed his Master’s Degree in Music from Madras University in 1999. Initially, he accompanied his Guru. B. Rajam Iyer for music concerts and travelled all over India. He has given several vocal concerts in India and abroad including, in the USA, Singapore, Canada, and France. He has finished his VIII Grade theory of Western Music and is a Certificate holder from Trinity College of Music, London. At present, he is practicing rare songs of Nadha Brahmmam Muthuswamy Dheekshidar. He has been awarded the title of “Sangeetha Rathna”, conferred by Teachers College of Music, Music Academy, Chennai in 1991 and has received further prestigious awards and laurels since then. He has and continues to accompany senior dancers like Padmabhushan Alarmelvalli, Madurai R. Muralidaran, Smt. Meenakshi Chitranjan, Smt. Jayanthi Subramaniam. As an accompanying singer to all these senior dancers, he has travelled all over India and Abroad.

Shri Sakthivel Muruganantham

Mridangam
Sakthivel Muruganandham is one of South India’s finest percussionists. Mr. Sakthivel has been playing the mridangam, specializing in the accompaniment of classical dance for 34 years. He learnt the art form by traditional Gurukulavasam under great Guru Shri Mayavaram G. Somasundaram Pillai. Later learnt under Guru Shri Bakthavatchalam. He had his special mridangam training for Bharathanatiyam under Guru Shri M.Balachander. He has provided percussion accompaniment to the world’s most established Bharatanatyam dancers, to name a few, Dr. Vyjayanthimala Bali, Smt. Alarmel Valli, Smt. Chitra vishveshwaran, Smt. Priyadarshini Govindh.He has received various titles including Laya Vidhyadhara, Natya Sangeetha Kala Bharathi, Laya Kala Vipanchee, Laya Kala Ratna, Laya Sironmani, and Mridanga Mamani. Mr. Sakthivel has had the privilege to perform at leading festivals and theaters around the world, as well as at many of India’s most prestigious performing arts festivals.

Shri Sigamani Natarajan

Violin
Shri. N .Sigamani comes from an illustrious musical family with his uncle being Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr S Ramanathan. He was trained in violin by his father,Alandur S.Natarajan.He is accompanying for Bharatnatyam for the past 38 years.He has also accompanied some of the major stalwarts in the field of Bharatanatyam,such as,Sri Kittappa Pillai,Sri Pandanallur Subbaraya Pillai,sri. Udupi Laxminarayan, Sri S.K Rajarathnam Pillai,Sri Adyar Lakshman,Smt K.J Sarasa,Smt Chitra Vishweshwaran,Kum Malavika Sarukkai,Smt Alarmael Valli and Smt Priyadarshini Govind to name a few.He has also participated in prestigious venues in India,and,around the world.To name a few,he has performed in the Rashtrapati Bhavan,Kennedy Center(USA),World Music Institute (New York), Queen Elizabeth Hall(London),Paris Opera(Paris) and in the Israel festival.He has also been conferred with The Naadha Kalaa Vipanchee by Dr M Balamurali Krishna,Natya Sangeetha Kalaa Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar and the Best Violinist Award from Narada Gana Sabha.He has also been awarded with "honorary Citizenship of Baltimore" by the mayor of, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Shri Sankarapillai Sunilkumar

Flautist
Shri. Sunilkumar is a graduate of Govt. Music College in Chennai. He was trained under flute vidwan “Kalaimamani” Sri. T.S. Sankaran. He is a soloist of great promise and has accompanied and accompanies many of India’s leading artists, traveling with them in India and abroad.

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