Off Season Chats - Gangadhar Venkat on Dancing to Empower & Uplift Communities

For a special two-part Off Season Chat, Ameya and Kiran speak with Sai Venkata Gangadhar, a Kuchipudi dancer and teacher from Hyderabad. This week, Gangadhar delves deeper into the impact of social media on dance and the next generation of dancers. He also discusses powerful ways dance can connect, empower, and uplift communities.  

Off Season Chats is a new series in which we have intimate conversations with dancers who are forging new paths in their artistic, personal, and professional lives. Our special guests are accomplished artists whose works span across many genres of South Asian dance including: Kathak, Kandyan, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Manipuri, Odissi, and much more.  

Dive Deeper:

• Golla Kalapam - traditional Kuchipudi kalapam centered on a milkmaid (Gollabhama) and a priest.
• Chandalika - Kuchipudi dance drama by Padmabhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam based on Rabindranath Tagore's play of the same name.
• Tappeta Gullu - Andhra folk tradition, practiced by the Yadhava community
• Nee Prashnalu (Kotha Bangaru Lokam)

About Sai Venkata Gangadhar:

Sai Venkata Gangadhar is a young Kuchipudi dancer from Hyderabad. He has been training at Nishrinkala Dance Academy under Guru Smt. Sandhya Raju for the past 13 years, and he is a postgraduate in Business administration. He also pursued his Masters in Kuchipudi from University of Hyderabad. He is one of the prime students of Smt. Sandhya Raju. Recognizing his dedication, she appointed him as an assistant teacher soon after his Rangapravesham in 2015.  

He has participated several times with the Academy’s group ensemble and performed in many prestigious dance festivals including:  Sangeet Natak Academy’s Nrityaprathibha festival, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha’s Pongal festivals, Gandharva, and many others. Also trained in gymnastics, he has taken this art as a profession and continuously works to understand and enjoy the nuances of his chosen dance style. 

Instagram: @sai_venkata_gangadhar 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgEQ2F_PLAGW8l6ODIruOUQ  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gagadhar.venkat 

Today’s episode of Off Season Chats would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our amazing listeners and the following people:   

• We Edit Podcasts for audio engineering 
• Sangeetha Kowsik for graphic design of our logo 
• Kasi Aysola for transcription of the Telugu portions 
• Wesley Beeks & Bertel King, Jr. 

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Off Season Chats is an Off The Beat production