An Odissi Performance by Arushi Mudgal and Shalakha Rai

As part of the series of events organised to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Upahaar School of Dance collaborates with SAMA Arts, to present an Odissi recital by the renowned dancer Arushi Mudgal accompanied by Shalakha Rai, at The Bhavan.

Arushi Mudgal is one of the foremost young talents in the field of Odissi, known for her technical virtuosity and creative approach to tradition. She has trained under her aunt and guru, Vidushi Madhavi Mudgal, at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi, a premier music and dance institution founded by her grandfather, Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya, and currently headed by her father, Pandit Madhup Mudgal. She has also had the opportunity of seeking guidance from great maestros and dancers like Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Vidushi Leela Samson. Arushi tours extensively, performing at various art festivals within the country and abroad. She has been featured at some of the finest theatres of Europe, USA, U.K. and APAC.

Graceful and sensitive, Shalakha Rai is an emerging talent in the field of Indian classical dance and has been learning Odissi under Guru

Madhavi Mudgal since 2001.

She completed the Visharad Purna (equivalent to a Bachelor's degree) from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai. She has performed on numerous occasions as part of her guru's troupe both in India and abroad and is a promising soloist. Some of her distinguished performances have been at the ceremonial reception of the American President, Mr. Barack Obama, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan; at the Mukteswar Festival, Bhubaneswar (duet); the Navarasa Festival, Dehradun and at the India International Centre, New Delhi.

Both of these talented artists have been invited to perform in the UK, by two of the leading South Asian Arts organisations in the UK.

Upahaar School of Dance marks it’s 20th birthday in 2023. Shalini Shivashankar started Upahaar in 2003 with the simple desire to share the joy experienced from expressing and communicating through dance. Upahaar was started in Croydon, South London and now has 7 centres across greater London. The emphasis is on quality training that is offered in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Mohiniattam, Carnatic Vocal and Mridangam. Upahaar curates the now well-known Nrithya-Upahaar, a biennial international festival of classical dance. Workshops and performances by acclaimed artists from around the world are organised regularly. The Upahaar Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam ensembles have performed for very well known festivals in the U.K. and also in Europe and India.

Sama Arts Network is one of the UK’s oldest and most influential arts organisations in the genre of traditional and contemporary South Asian arts. It also presents Orchestral, Jazz and World Music. Established in 1977, Sama has curated more than 2,000 events with acclaimed artists from the UK and other parts of the world. They have included tours, concerts, festivals, educational talks, workshops, seminars, lecture-demos, film screenings, and visual and performing arts. Many concerts were filmed, recorded archived and released through both on the physical and digital platforms. Sama’s area of work is in the field of curating festivals, project commissions of new works, label management, consultancy, recording, music publishing and securing intellectual property rights.

Join us on September 10th at 6:30pm at The Bhavan, for an evening of classical dance.