People
Founder/Organizer
MA in Hindu Studies HUA
Snehapriya Rao is the founder of Pranava Arts Collective, with an MA in Hindu Studies, and a student of Carnatic music. Her work sits at the intersection of Yoga, the sacred arts, and community formation in the Hindu diaspora. Through Pranava Arts, she is developing a framework for “Yogic arts” that shows how forms such as Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, and sacred visual arts are not merely performative but arise from disciplined spiritual practice. Her current research traces the philosophical roots of these traditions in Sanātana Dharma and asks what it means to steward Indian arts in America in a way that is both authentic and welcoming to new audiences. Her scholarship and community engagement are shaped by her life as a mother and Yoga practitioner, especially her interest in intergenerational transmission, cultural continuity, and creating spaces where Hindu children in America can encounter the arts as a pathway to Yoga, not only as performance. Through writing, teaching, and programming, she seeks to make the wisdom of Sanātana Dharma accessible, embodied, and artistically alive.
Advisors
Odissi Dancer/Educator
Associate Professor of Dance at UNCC
Kaustavi Sarkar is Associate Professor of Dance and Director of the Arts + Architecture Honors Program at UNC Charlotte. A professional Odissi soloist for over two decades, she cherishes sharing the form’s sculptural lines, musicality, and rasa with students and audiences alike. Her scholarship explores virtuosity and choreographic process within South Asian aesthetics, and she has collaborated with and written on works by Ananya Chatterjea, Rohini Dandavate, Aruna Mohanty, and Maya Kulkarni. Kaustavi’s writing appears in International Journal of Screendance, Choreographic Practices, Journal of Dance Education, and Performance Research. Her book, Dance Technology and Social Justice (McFarland, 2024), informs her community-centered teaching; her next monograph, Shaping S Curves: Choreographic Process in Odissi, is under contract with UNC Press. She serves as Regional Director for ACDA (Mid-Atlantic), leads the “Dance and Community” institute, co-founded South Asian Dance Intersections, and founded Odissi Odyssey at UNC Charlotte. Kaustavi holds a Ph.D. in Dance Studies (Ohio State) and an M.S. in Economics (Texas A&M).
Carnatic and Choral Music Educator
Author/ Composer/ Shanti Choir
Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran is an acclaimed composer, educator, scholar, and filmmaker whose work bridges cultures through Indian raga–based choral music. A pioneer of Indian American choral writing, he has shaped a “new sound” by blending ragas with Western choirs and orchestras, mentoring 3,500+ performers and inspiring community ensembles across a dozen U.S. cities. His collaborations span the Cincinnati Pops and Chamber Orchestra, the Martin Luther King Chorale, the Residentie Orkest (Netherlands), the NUS Symphony, and artists including Lakshmi Shankar, Mallika Sarabhai, and the Gundecha Brothers. Recent highlights include the widely praised video “Rivers of India” (with Bombay Jayashri and Kaushiki Chakravorty) and Anubhūti, a comprehensive book on Muthuswami Dikshitar released in honor of the composer’s 250th anniversary. His scholarship on Dikshitar—along with the award-winning documentary Colonial Interlude—has brought renewed attention to Indo-Colonial repertoire. Featured on NPR and INK Talks, he teaches Indian music theory/history (CCM–University of Cincinnati; Hindu University of America) and advances his “Raga Vidyā” pedagogy.
Dance Educators
Kuchipudi Dancer/Educator
Pallavi Academy Of Kuchipudi Dance
Pallavi Madabushi is a Kuchipudi artist born in Hyderabad to a family steeped in music and dance. She discovered the form early, training with her mother and Guru, Smt. P. B. Krishna Bharathi, and has performed at festivals in Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Missouri, and California. Honors include Singar Mani, Nritya Archana, the GVR Foundation Youth Award, and an ICCRT Scholarship from the Government of India. In 2019, she completed a master’s degree in Kuchipudi from Aria University, California. Most recently, she directed and danced the leading role of Padmavati in “Kalyana Srinivasam: A Journey Through Kuchipudi into Divine Union.” Now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, she founded the Pallavi Academy of Kuchipudi Dance (PAKD) to nurture the next generation. Students receive training from basics through Rangapravesam, with optional certificate and diploma pathways through the Sampada Certification Program. Warm and community-minded, she continues to perform, teach, and share Kuchipudi’s grace and depth.
Sattriya Dancer/Educator
Nritya Dhwani School of Performing Arts
Priyadarshini Inman is a choreographer, performer, and teacher of Sattriya, one of India’s eight classical dance traditions rooted in Assam. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Nritya Dhwani Cultural Foundation and the Nritya Dhwani School of Performing Arts, introduced as the first formal Sattriya school in the United States. Trained in Kathak and Hindustani classical music, she creates cross-tradition works and has presented original choreography at Charlotte’s BOOM arts festival and in university collaborations. Her leadership includes service with the Naamghar Association of America and Asom Sahitya Sabha North America. A native of Assam now based in North Carolina, Priyadarshini’s arts outreach has been recognized with the U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award. As a visiting faculty member, she has shared Sattriya and Ankiya Nāṭ on campuses including Panjab University, Nagaon University, and UNC Charlotte. Her productions and classes reach audiences across the United States and abroad, nurturing new Sattriya artists while honoring the tradition’s devotional roots.
Bharatnatyam Dancer/Educator
Musical Mudra
Aparna Nair is a Charlotte-based dancer, choreographer, and educator who founded and directs Musical Mudra, a school and platform that brings together Indian classical, semi-classical, and contemporary movement as a language of healing and connection. Originally from Kerala and raised in the U.S. since age one, she blends cultural roots with a warm, community-centered teaching style. Aparna holds bachelor’s degrees in Biology (NC State University) and Psychology (UNC Charlotte) and is preparing to pursue a master’s in Psychology. Drawing on experience in behavioral therapy with children on the autism spectrum, she designs classes and workshops that nurture emotional well-being, creativity, and mindful self-expression for learners of all ages. At Musical Mudra, her approach emphasizes strong foundational technique, musicality, and storytelling while meeting students where they are—whether stepping into a first class or exploring performance and choreography. Through performance, education, and outreach, Aparna invites students and audiences to slow down, listen deeply, and find joy in movement.
Music Educators
Carnatic Singer/Educator
Sri Saraswathi School of Music Charlotte
Lalitha Chithra Ravindran grew up in a family that stewards the Bhajana Sampradāya tradition. She began vocal training at six and won first prizes in the junior, senior, and super-senior categories at Narada Gana Sabha, Karur. Guided by her gurus, she cultivated a wide repertoire and strong manodharma; her first major solo was in 2008 at Sringeri Sri Sharada Mutt, Madurai. Now based in Charlotte, she is a full-time musician, practitioner, and teacher. She heads the Sri Saraswati School of Carnatic Music, teaching children and adults and presenting students in community concerts and annual recitals. Her thematic performances weave rāga ālāpana, kṛti and swara singing, and pallavi, featuring works by Tyāgarāja, Muthusvāmi Dīkṣitar, Swāti Tirunāl, and leading Tamil composers. She has performed for the Charlotte Swathi Thirunal Sangeetha Sabha and Charlotte Kala Kendra, and presented a 2025 lecture-demonstration on Nāda Yoga at Harvard Divinity School’s Program for the Evolution of Spirituality. She continues advanced training with Kalaimamani Dr. Prema Rangarajan.
Hindustani Singer/Educator
Aditi Kane Originally from Pune and rooted in Charlotte, North Carolina since 2004, Aditi is an IT professional by day and a devoted Hindustani classical vocalist at heart. She trained for over a decade under the late Pt. Madhusudan Patwardhan (son of Pt. Vinayakbuva Patwardhan) and completed the Sangeet Visharad from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Aditi designs and leads educational programs in Charlotte that introduce students and audiences to the beauty of Hindustani classical music—covering rāga basics, listening skills, and the art of bandish and improvisation. She earned 3rd prize at the BMM Sa Re Ga Ma competition in Anaheim (2015) and is an active performer and organizer with IPAAC (Indian Performing Arts Association of Charlotte). She also participates in semi-classical and devotional programs with Charlotte Marathi Mandal, the Charlotte Ganesh Festival, and the Hindu Center. Warm, rooted, and community-minded, Aditi loves sharing music that invites people to listen more deeply.