WHO ARE WE...
We are Indian American and artists of other cultures who practice Carnatic MusiC, South Indian dance traditions and spent time training in Western techniques such as Western classical music, Jazz, Ballet, Modern dance and Contemporary dance to enhance our traditions and to create works that are more appropriately formulated for western audiences. The Orchestra members are of Tamil and Telugu roots (Dravidian roots). We spend a great deal of time both in India and the US to embrace both South Indian and American culture. We combine our experiences in the US and India to present authentic storytelling from our unique perspectives. We draw inspiration from other cultures and traditions since we live in the US which is a melting pot of myriad cultures, and we are constantly exposed to numerous artists coming from different traditional backgrounds. All of this experience and cultural heritage reflects in our works. Yamini's intensive training in Carnatic music inspires her to create and arrange original music to her original dance choreographies with the feedback and support from her Ensemble musicians. She looks forward to working and collaborating with young artists who are grounded in tradition but also who are courageous to experiment with these ancient art forms while keeping its intent sacred and honest.
We are Indian American and artists of other cultures who practice Carnatic MusiC, South Indian dance traditions and spent time training in Western techniques such as Western classical music, Jazz, Ballet, Modern dance and Contemporary dance to enhance our traditions and to create works that are more appropriately formulated for western audiences. The Orchestra members are of Tamil and Telugu roots (Dravidian roots). We spend a great deal of time both in India and the US to embrace both South Indian and American culture. We combine our experiences in the US and India to present authentic storytelling from our unique perspectives. We draw inspiration from other cultures and traditions since we live in the US which is a melting pot of myriad cultures, and we are constantly exposed to numerous artists coming from different traditional backgrounds. All of this experience and cultural heritage reflects in our works. Yamini's intensive training in Carnatic music inspires her to create and arrange original music to her original dance choreographies with the feedback and support from her Ensemble musicians. She looks forward to working and collaborating with young artists who are grounded in tradition but also who are courageous to experiment with these ancient art forms while keeping its intent sacred and honest.
WHERE ARE WE BASED... |
WHEN DID WE BEGIN... |
|
Yamini the founder is based in NYC. She was born in the US and grew up in Hyderabad, India. Rohith Jayaraman, born and raised in the Bay Area, CA and he is based in Seattle, Washington. Harsha Mandayam Bharathi is originally from Chennai but now he is based in Columbus, Ohio. Vivek Ramanan is from the Bay Area but now based in Rhode Island. Laya Raghav is a Cleveland, Ohio native. We have another vocalist, Harini Darbha from Ashland, MA, join our Ensemble this year (2023). All of the Company Dancers of the ensemble are based in NYC.
Though we are all based in different parts of the US, we meet on Zoom and in New York to create new works in terms of Music and rehearse for our tours. For Dance, we meet in person in NYC to rehearse in the weekends for the projects we are commissioned. We have performed at the: Irish Arts Festival, Manhattan, NY (June 11th, 2022) Mid Ohio Valley Multicultural Festival, Parkersburg, WV (June 18th & 18th, 2022) Geeva Arts Festival, Louisville, KY, (July 10th, 2022) Recently performed at the Penn State University, State College (April 8th, 2023) |
Kritya Ensemble was founded in January, 2022 by Yamini. Yamini has decided to showcase Kuchipudi alongside live carnatic music because Kuchipudi is a dance drama or theater tradition where LIVE MUSIC is the crux of this lively tradition. We premiered our first performance on June 11, 2022 in NYC as part of The Irish Arts Festival. We started our work process in spring, 2022.
Yamini was inspired to start Kritya Ensemble after working on a couple of projects with Carnatic Singer, Rohith Jayaraman. This inspired her to find other creative and talented young musicians to create the ideal professional team. The rehearsals are as lively and energetic as the performances and the ensemble has grown to become a family which has added to the cohesiveness and authenticity of each presentation. Yamini says, "There is not a single thing in my life I don't share with them. In fact this level of vulnerability and safety has inspired me to create works that really speak to me." After Yamini has finished her training at The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. Yamini could not wait to experiment her new ideas which combined her Indian classical dancing and Modern Dance training. Especially after being commissioned by Connecticut Ballet, Autumn Salon and Street Symphony (Vijay Gupta, Violinist), Yamini started to finally put out all her ideas which combined both of these worlds while working with dancers of Kritya. |
|
|