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Geeva Arts Festival
The Indian classical dance and music festival of Louisville KY
Artists of 2026!
 Bharatha Dance CompanyA Thousand Years' Journey | Bharatanatyam | lead by Ganesh Vasudeva |  Nitya NarasimhanDear Daughter | Bharatanatyam |  Tarika NathSampark: To connect | Kathak |  Sadhana GollapudiWoven Through Time | Kuchipudi |
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Sadhana Gollapudi is a Houston-based Kuchipudi dancer and a disciple of Sri Kasi Aysola. With a foundation in Indian classical dance since the age of eight, Sadhana has performed extensively across the United States, Europe, the UAE, and India. Her notable appearances include the Battery Dance Festival (NYC), the World Dance Conference (Athens), and prestigious Chennai Sabhas during the Margazhi season such as Bharat Kalachar, Karthik Fine Arts and Natya Kala Conference.
A versatile performer, Sadhana has and excelled in lead roles in traditional dance-dramas like Sri Krishna Parijatham. She has also performed with Prakriti Dance Company on numerous stages including the historic Kuchipudi Pathaka Swarnothsavulu in Kuchipudi Village, India, and at the Chicago Thyagaraja Utsavam. Beyond the stage, she is an innovative choreographer and producer, recently co-founding the collaborative production Samahrtya under the YUVA initiative. Sadhana continues to evolve as a dedicated artist, blending technical rigor with a deep passion for the Kuchipudi tradition.
Nitya Narasimhan, is the founder and artistic director of Prayukti Arts based in Sunnyvale, California. Nitya’s journey in dance began under Smt. Suma Mani and Smt. Rukmini Vijayakumar. Today, it continues to be shaped under the guidance of Smt. Shweta Prachande. Nitya's expansive training also includes Karanas under Smt. Vithya Arasu, a Nattuvangam diploma under Vidwan Guru Bharadwaj, a post-diploma in Movement and Media from the Attakkalari Centre, and an Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training certificate from the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco.An acclaimed soloist and ensemble artist, Nitya has graced esteemed stages throughout India and the United States, collaborating with premier companies like Navadarshana, Bharata Dance Alliance, Raadha Kalpa, and Nava Dance Theatre. Her unwavering commitment to her craft and the community has been recognized through prestigious honors, including the Natya Ratna award, the ACTA Apprenticeship Mentor Artist title, and the Sunnyvale Mayor’s Award. Nitya approaches Bharatanatyam as a vibrant, living legacy, deeply anchored in tradition and what she has been fortunate to learn from her teachers, yet continuously blooming through mindful exploration. Nitya continues to engage with Bharatanatyam as a student, performer, teacher, and curator.
Sadhana Gollapudi
Nitya Narasimhan
Tarika Nath
Tarika Nath is a Houston-based Kathak dancer, choreographer, composer, and educator whose work bridges the rich tradition of the Lucknow Gharana with contemporary artistic inquiry. She received over fifteen years of foundational training under Guru Smt. Shiva Mathur before continuing advanced study at Kalashram Delhi under the late Padmavibhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj and Vidushi Saswati Sen. She currently serves as Assistant Director of Shivangini Academy of Arts, where she leads choreography and artistic development at one of the largest Kathak institutions in Texas.
Recognized for both her solo artistry and original choreographic voice, Tarika has presented her work at acclaimed festivals across North America, including the Union PDX Festival of Contemporary Dance, the New York Kathak Festival, and the Barnstorm Dance Fest in Houston, TX. In 2024, she was selected as a Dance Source Houston Artist-in-Residence, one of Houston's most competitive dance residency programs, where she developed and premiered Sampark, an original work exploring communication with souls in the afterlife. She is also a member of the 2023 YUVA Cohort, curated by Silambam Houston, where she co-produced Avikathita, a full-length original production exploring the untold stories of seven female figures in South Asian literature. Beyond her independent choreographic work, Tarika has performed with Kalashram Delhi's touring company at Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Wortham Theater Center in Houston, and has choreographed multiple works for the Sadhana & Tarana Emerging Artist Series in Toronto, Canada. She is the recipient of the 2024 DISHA USA Youth Leadership Award for her contributions to Indian classical dance and currently serves as a 2026 Lotus Fellow with Arts India US, an exclusive national fellowship dedicated to strengthening the Indian classical performing arts ecosystem in the United States.
Tarika is grounded in the expressive vocabulary of Kathak while embracing new modes of artistic expression. Through original choreography and music composition, she creates emotionally resonant works that transform deeply personal experiences into universal stories of memory, identity, and human connection. Her artistic practice contributes to a growing body of contemporary Kathak that honors lineage while expanding the form's creative possibilities for new audiences.
Bharata Dance Company
Ganesh Vasudeva is a Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer. Ganesh has created many works and presented his works in India, France, London and the United States. Ganesh believes dance is an all encompassing form that connects him to everyone & everything that has come in the past and yet to come in this art form. Understanding different aspects of this connection to the past, present and future is what drives Ganesh – from origin & evolution of this art to adapting this dance form to better tell our stories, and what he can contribute to the way this art shapes itself for future generations.