The Journey
BHARATA NATYAM, the classical Indian dance form is a combination of seshanatyanikethan many arts such as music, poetry and rhythm. Such a rich cultural tradition requires years of discipline both mental and physical, hard work and dedication. Ananya Ainkaran brings to Bharata Natyam all these qualities. Hailing from a family with a deep interest in the art, Ananya was born to Rev J.Nageswara Sarma and Smt Komathi. Ananya was deeply rooted in the old Tanjore tradition of Bharathanatyam. Ananya’s association with dance began in Sri Lanka at a very early age of four under the guidance of Smt Vasugi Jegatheeshwaran. Ananya owes her artistic and creative vision to her Guru Kalasuri Smt Vasugi Jegatheeshwaran under whose tutelage she had the privilege to complete Teacher Training and Natuvanga Training.
Seshanatyanikethan
We are passionate about Dance
On completion of her degree, Ananya started working on her own. Combining the lessons she had learned from her Gurus and her knowledge of the cognate forms of art, Ananya started teaching dance at Chidambaram. She established “seshanatyanikethan” in 2006 after her God Father and Uncle Dr. Seshamany’s name. She has been training students for the past 10 years. Ananya is someone who is genuinely interested in dance and in doing something for dance. She believes in the total development of her students. Two of her first students in India staged their Arangetram in the temple city of Sirgazhi. In 2008, Ananya moved to the UK and re-established “seshanatyanikethan”. Since then, she has been imparting to her students with love and dedication whatever has been bestowed upon her by the almighty. She is blessed with a wonderful talent of teaching Bharathanatyam to youngsters and has the uncanny ability to bring out the best in each and every student. She has pioneered in molding children of very early age to professional standards. Many of her students have blossomed into solo performers and have been performing in the UK, winning awards and titles and scholarships. Two of her students have been awarded “Vidhya Bhooshanam” by OEBL on completion of their ninth grade.
Shows & Major Performances
Highlighting a Decade of Artistry
Ananya has carved a niche for herself with several, much-lauded Mythological Nritya Natakams and thematic dance productions. A cast of young students with fine dancing techniques, a dramatic atmosphere, and remarkable choreography have made her productions unique and appealing to one and all. Some of her noteworthy productions were staged in Birmingham Balaji Temple for Vaikunda Ekadhasi and Sri Rama Navami and High Wycombe Sri Meenatchi Amman Temple. On several occasions, Ananya choreographed her students to perform at UDEAR festivals. The dance concerts that Ananya presented have been widely appreciated by multiple organizations and festivals all over the country. In 2017, she had the opportunity of staging nritya natakam “Seetha Kalyanam”, which received rave reviews from all the audience and has generated repeats in different locations.
Artistic Excellence and Dedication
In 2015, Ananya presented “Noopura Layakathi”, which encompassed the “Salangai Poojai” of five of her outstanding students. Many special people like Smt Ambika Thamotharan, the Director at OEBL and Smt Jeyanthi Yogarasah, a renowned Bharatanatyam teacher, graced the very special and joyous occasion. Some of the dances that were composed by Ananya at the “Noopura Layakathi” were spectacular and widely appreciated. In 2017, Ananya trained her students for the December 31st UDEAR Event. The dance was organized by the world-based organization Hidden Idol with around fifty thousand dancers participating worldwide and considered for entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. The unique feature of the dance was the performance of a synchronized routine alongside fifty thousand dancers globally. The main dance event arising from India symbolizes the toil of the farmers and this fiesta is a tribute to their hard work. It was heartening to be part of such a big worldwide event that required a great degree of harmonization at the artistic and administrative level to make it a complete success. Anaya’s efforts could be seen from the great performance of even five and six-year-olds in the group. Due to her persistent determination, her students who participated in event were awarded Natya Mani title.
Ten-year Milestone
A Decade of Dance Excellence
seshanatyanikethan has reached a milestone of completing ten years of teaching and training young dancers. Ananya’s hard work, personal effort, and perseverance have resulted in seshanatyanikethan being awarded “Kalaikoodam”. Ananya draws great strength from a very strong faith in God. Ananya takes the opportunity to train students from a very early age at her seshanatyanikethan and it makes her bold and confident. Ananya has always dedicated her efforts towards preserving the purity of this ancient dance form and passing it to the next generation. Ananya has leaned on creating and improvising within the limits of the style and enjoys choreographing to lyrical interpretations of different Indian languages. She encourages her students to perform in public as often as possible, so they can gain exposure and self-confidence. Her students say, “Ananya is a great teacher and her greatness lies in her dreams for others, her students. She can inspire the most ordinary learners. Apart from being a beautiful dancer, Ananya has proved to be a wonderful teacher.” These exceptional traits have also led to being awarded the title “Natya Acharya”. Ananya says “I love working with children,” and “I’ve always considered myself an educator first, before a performer”. seshanatyanikethan Kalaikoodam has kept the heritage of Bharatnatyam alive far from India without corrupting the traditions of the Guru-Shishya relationship. Let Ananya’s good work and dedication to the art inspire the younger generation in the field of Bharatanatyam and make seshanatyanikethan grow many more decades into a revered institution.