Sasikala Penumarthi to raise funds
for South Asian studies

By Ravi R. Ponangi

Atlanta, GA: Sasikala Penumarthi, founder-director of the Academy of Kuchipudi Dance and popularly known exponent of Kuchipudi dance form, is all set to present “Swapna Vijayam,” a new version of the “Nutcracker Story” in Kuchipudi style to raise funds to establish a Telugu language studies program as part of South Asian Studies at Emory University.
The Academy of Kuchipudi Dance presents “Swapna Vijayam” on Saturday, December 15, at 4:00 p.m. at the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts, Georgia Tech. With a cast of 40 dancers and a live orchestra, the performance is expected to establish that this Indian classical dance form is eminently suitable to tackle not only themes from Indian mythology and history, but also Western themes.
This is the season for the staging of “The Nutcracker” story across many cities of the United States. It starts right after Thanksgiving and continues until after New Year. Something new is being added in Metro Atlanta this year, the “Nutcracker Story” as a Kuchipudi Dance Drama choreographed and directed by Sasikala Penumarthi. The original story created by E.T.A. Hoffman, “Nutcracker and the King of Mice,” focused on a child’s view of the world of adults and cashed on the innocence and imagination that fills a child’s mind.
Famous Telugu poet and scholar Indraganti Srikantha Sarma adapted this story and composed the lyrics for “Swapna Vijayam,” making it into an event in an imaginary Indian setting. Sasikala choreographed and directed the dances in authentic Kuchipudi style for all those episodes that make up the story – the party in the palace, the magician’s tricks, the dream of the king’s daughter Swapna, the encounter with the mouse king, the nutcracker who becomes a prince, and Swapna’s trip to the Sugar Plum land.
Sasikala is a well known artist in Atlanta for training a cross-section of the community children in Kuchipudi dance, besides helping many institutions in raising funds for noble causes. Earlier, she performed twice for the Hindu Temple of Atlanta and once for the Gandhi Foundation of USA, to name a few and others and raised substantial funds to them. To mark the 10th anniversary of her Academy of Kuchipudi Dance based in Atlanta, Sasikala decided to present “Swapna Vijayam,” a new version of the “Nutcracker Story” in Kuchipudi dance form and raise funds to establish a Telugu language studies program at Emory University. She is receiving support and encouragement from all quarters of the community. The community needs to raise $150,000. Emory University will match the remaining funds to enable the beginning of an academic program that can draw international attention to the Telugu language and culture and serve the needs of our future generations.
Sasikala Penumarthi was trained under the great Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam for over 17 years. She traveled with her Guru all over the world and performed in lead roles in most of the ballets presented by the Kuchipudi Art Academy.
Moved to Atlanta in 1991, she continued her pursuits by training her own students, performing and producing dance dramas. In order to propagate the art into the mainstream, Sasikala founded the Academy of Kuchipudi Dance, a non-profit organization in 1997.
Sasikala Penumarthi is one of the foremost performers of Kuchipudi dance. She is a Master Artist for the Georgia Council for the Arts and the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts. She serves as Artiste Affiliate and Associate Faculty at Emory University, where she teaches full credit semester courses in Kuchipudi. She conducts lecture demonstrations on Kuchipudi upon invitation from the Georgia State University, Macon State College, University of Georgia at Athens, and University of Florida at Tallahassee. Sasikala is on the Georgia Arts Council State Touring Artists Roster, a Governor's program, for five years in a row, and performs all over the United States upon invitation from various Arts Councils. She also serves on the Young Audiences of Atlanta Roster. She tours all over the State of Georgia upon invitation from schools to introduce Kuchipudi art form to the younger generation.
In earlier years Sasikala's troupe presented Chandalika, Krishna Parijatham, Srinivasa Kalyanam, Rukmini Kalyanam and several solo and group performances in the Atlanta area and Southeast in order to raise funds for the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, Gandhi Foundation, Indian American Scholarship Fund, Tsunami Relief, and Katrina Relief.
Joining the Kuchipudi Art Academy in Madras, South India, at the age of eight years, Sasikala Penumarthi has devoted her life to studying, performing, and teaching this classical Indian dance form of Kuchipudi besides extending a supportive hand through her expertise in it to the human cause.
All are encouraged to come and enjoy the performance and support for the establishment of a South Asian program at Emory, one of the premier universities in the USA.
Following are the details of the performance:

What: Academy of Kuchipudi Dance celebrates its 10th anniversary with “Swapna Vijayam,”a dance drama. This dance drama in Kuchpudi style is based on the “Nutcracker Story.”
When: Saturday, December 15, at 4:00 p.m.
Where: Robert Ferst center for the Arts, Georgia Tech, 349 Ferst Drive NW.
Contact: 404-644-7521
For more information, please call Dr. Seshu Sarma at 770-491-9305.