BOSTON—You can call her a late bloomer. Pallavi Nagesha started to realize her childhood passion of Bharatanatyam after arriving in Boston at the age of 21. Later, she not only did her Arangetram , or debut on-stage performance, but she started her Bharatanatyam dance school: Bhumika Arts.
Earlier this month, she gave a mesmerizing performance of Bharatanatyam dance at a Saheli event in Lexington, MA. After the event, Ms. Nagesha sat down for an exclusive video interview with INDIA New England News to talk about her dance journey.
To watch the full interview, please click here, or on the image below.
Ms. Nagesha is the founding director of Bhūmikā Arts. She teaches Bharatanatyam, Sanskrit, Yoga, and the Āyurvedic lifestyle. She believes that Dance, Yoga, and Āyurveda are three inseparable components that open you to new and transformative experiences.
To her, dance is an overt expression of true love, where one needs to drop the self (ego) to understand and bask in the beloved. She instills this spiritual seed in all her students and hopes that through dance, each of them gives themselves permission to explore that connection with the universal Truth.
Ms. Nagesha began her Bharatanatyam training under Guru Poornima Risbud, in the Tanjāvūr style and has co-produced and performed in Nrityotsav, a day-long dance festival featuring stalwart dancers from around the globe. She has performed in many productions in the New England area, including Vision Aid and Snehalaya. She has also served as a judge at many prestigious classical dance competitions in the area.
Ms. Nagesha is also the recipient of grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2023 and Local Cultural Councils in the years 2013, 2019, and 2022. She was recognized for her contributions to the BIPOC community in Wayland, MA and continues to advocate for diversity and inclusion.
Ms. Nagesha is currently undergoing advanced training in Bharatanatyam from Guru Padmini Ravi. She is also pursuing Karaṇa Saṅgītaṁ under the guidance of Guru Nirupama Rajendra and Layam under Guru Sheejith Krishna.
Her unique style is an amalgamation of her absorption of style, technique, nuances of abhinaya, and intricate connection with music, rhythm, and poetry she has learned from many teachers including Shekhar Shastri, Poornima Risbud, Sheejith Krishna, Bragha Bessel, Rama Vaidyanathan, Ananda Shankar Jayanth, Madhavi Mudgal, and many more. She hopes to continue her learning under the stalwarts and expand her understanding and deepen her relationship with this sublime art form.
Ms. Nagesha is an active volunteer at the LearnQuest Music Academy and has served on its annual festival committee in various capacities since 2013, including LearnQuest Music Conference Chair for 2024. Pallavi also volunteers her time and art for Saheli, Boston.
Ms. Nagesha is a content creator by profession and is currently working at Amazon Web Services as a Senior Documentation Manager.
