About Shree Sanga Mudhra
Periyar Nagar | Pattalam | Purasawalkam
About
Shree Sanga Mudhra
Shree Sanga Mudhra is a dance academy in Chennai established in 2013 by Smt. Jayashree Rajesh & Smt. Sangeetha Vikranth. The dynamic sister duo have been immersed in the world of Bharatanatyam from an early age due to their father’s interest in the divine art form. They began their Bharatanatyam journey as toddlers, but once the dance bug caught them, there was no looking back.
From performing at various functions during their school and college days to embarking on a journey in teaching Bharatanatyam, the accomplished dancers have come far from where they started. Their passion for the divine art form has pushed them to pursue M.Phil in Bharatanatyam. One could say this is just the beginning of their journey as they have tremendous zeal in constantly upgrading themselves to stay at the top of their game.
During their youthful days as Bharatanatyam students, they were sometimes asked to coach the younger students. The pleasure of teaching them with patience, perfecting their moves, and helping them understand complex concepts gave them immense happiness. With time, they realized they were passionate about teaching Bharatanatyam to children and decided to take the plunge to start their Bharatanatyam dance academy in Chennai during their M.A. days.
Apart from being a Bharatanatyam dance academy in Chennai, they train students in allied disciplines such as theory, yoga, music, chants, compering, etc. They teach them these skills because they believe in going above and beyond in not only creating dancers and performers. But also instill a sense of curiosity, love, and discipline in their students so they can become future choreographers, teachers, and creative directors.
So, why should you choose SSM for your children? Nowadays, the challenges of Bharatanatyam teachers of this generation are entirely different. The traditional teaching methodology won’t work for this current generation. One has to teach in such a way it invokes a sense of curiosity while, at the same time, they need to be taught in diverse ways to sustain a love for this art form. The initial years of practice can be challenging for many students as it can be monotonous, but by hand-holding them through the hardships and igniting a passion for the art form, they will shine through. We help cultivate creativity and foster individuality, rooting for them to shine in all areas of their lives. The innocence of our young students, along with their expressive abilities, pushes us to find innovative ways to teach them Bharatanatyam. Not only that, we always take time to have a personal connection with each of our students because, underneath all this, the love for children was a huge reason why we started this dance academy in Chennai.
Our vision for the future is to become one of Chennai’s most outstanding Bharatanatyam dance academies. By learning different teaching methods, we will tweak our technique depending on the student’s caliber and age. For our new students, we start familiarizing them with adavu vocabulary through constant practice and repetition. Though the practice can be tiresome, we will introduce unique ways of executing the same movement, using various spatial arrangements and rhythmic patterns. We also teach them gestures and viniyogas(applications) theoretically in the form of Sanskrit Slokas. Though children can understand the theory, difficulty arises when implementing the technique since it is usually taught in Sanskrit, an unfamiliar language. To overcome this problem, we will practice gestural vocabulary using simple stories that would interest students while retaining them in their memory for extended periods.
As a Bharatanatyam dance academy in Chennai, the cookie-cutter approach will not work for all our students. Children are innately curious, and when guided properly, they will catch hold of the technique and perform confidently, surpassing our standards. The blend between traditional and innovative methods will be the perfect combination to help students become proficient in the divine art form, Bharatanatyam.
Students of SSM regularly perform at various temples, participate in school competitions, and bring laurels to their parents and gurus. One thematic dance presentation, known as “Krishnaarpanam,” was done by SSM students on the DD channel. Also, students are encouraged to participate in dance examinations conducted by Prayathnam.
About
Our teachers
Young and inspiring sisters Smt. Jayashree Rajesh and Smt. Sangeetha Vikranth are passionate dancers, dedicated teachers, and practitioners of Isha Yoga. Brought up in a highly cultured and lovable family, their parents encouraged and supported them greatly in fulfilling all their passions. Their strong support and love for teaching Bharatanatyam is an impetus that made these multifaceted dancers take up dance as their career.
Smt. Jayashree Rajesh is a BCA graduate from M.O.P Vaishnav College. She has completed her M.A. in Bharatanatyam, first class with distinction, and M.Phil in Bharatanatyam. Jayashree got a chance to represent Tamil Nadu through NCC and performed before our former President, Pratibha Patil, in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi.
Smt. Sangeetha Vikranth did her under graduation in Food, Science & Management at M.O.P Vaishnav College. She completed her M.A. in Bharatanatyam at the University of Madras and M.Phil in Bharatanatyam. Besides that, Sangeetha accompanied Srilanka dancers and the orchestra for an “ILANGAIL NAVARASAM” production and took part in the Mohiniattam solo production called “NAVARASAPAANJALI.”
Both being graded artists by Doordarshan, they have performed together in various places such as Thanjavur, Srirangam, Madurai, Tiruvarur, Virudhunagar, Assam, Burma, Orissa, Manipur, Singapore, etc. They were honored with the title ‘Perarignar Anna’ by South Indian Social Cultural
Academy, ‘Yuva Nrithya Jothi’ by Sruthilaya Vidyalaya, ‘Natyakala Ratna’ by Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre Singapore. Both have taken part in most of their gurus group productions such as Aalavadhu Eppadiyo, Sapta Vidangam, Purananooru, Silambu Vidu Thoothu, Sundara Kandam and Kanakana Ruchi.
With all humility, they offer their gratitude to their entire family for what they are today.