Tharini Shanmugarajah is an accomplished professional Bharatanatyam dancer. She was trained under her mother and guru Smt. Kalyani Shanmugarajah, Artistic Director of the Kalapeetham Foundation in Los Angeles, an acclaimed school in the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam. Tharini has dedicated her life to her passion and pursuit of Bharatanatyam.
EDUCATION
Her impeccable technique comes from a prestigious lineage of dancers and educators. Her mother, Kalyani Shanmugarajah is a disciple of Sarada Hoffman, reputed beacon of the Kalakshetra style. In 2008, Tharini began studying under her guru and mentor Sri. Sheejith Krishna (Director – Sahrdaya Foundation,Chennai). His innovative approach to dance and his dynamic choreography has broadened her horizons and deepened her mastery of the dance vocabulary. She has been fortunate to accompany Sheejith Krishna in several duet performances, both in the U.S. and in Canada. Tharini has also been fortunate to study with acclaimed abhinaya (expression) exponent Smt. Bragha Bessell. In 2011, Tharini also had the opportunity to attend the first winter dance camp at the esteemed Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Chennai. Tharini spent four months in India from December 2013 through March 2014. During her stay she attended dance, music, theory, and poetry classes at the Sahrdaya Foundation. She also received intensive training with her guru Sheejith Krishna.
In addition to Bharatanatyam, Tharini has also studied ballet from a very young age. She has also studied Carnatic music under Smt. Sankari Senthilkumar for many years. Tharini received her B.S. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in dance from California State University Northridge in 2013.
OUTREACH
After performing her Arangetram (solo dance debut) in 2002 under the guidance of Sri Bhagavatalu Seetarama Sarma, Tharini went on to create the Kalapeetham Dance Company in 2005. After watching her mother’s struggle with breast cancer, Tharini became passionate about using her dance to fundraise for worthy causes. Since 2005, the Kalapeetham Dance Company has raised over $75,000 for various non-profit organizations including the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Charity: Water, the International Medical Health Organization, Visions Global Empowerment, P.E.A.R.L., and Sick Kids Foundation in Toronto.
In January 2014, during her stay in India, Tharini was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with women at the Banyan Institute for Mental Heath and Rehabilitation. She participated in several workshops at different Banyan centers along with her fellow Sahrdaya students. Under the guidance of Miranda Lakerveld (an opera and theater director from Holland), she worked with the Banyan women and her fellow Sahrdaya’s to create a short dance theater work, which was presented at Dakshina Chitra during a symposium on “Social Prescribing in Mental Health and Developmental Practices.”
Currently Tharini is actively involved in the non-profit arts organization Kalālayam, which she co-founded in 2014 with her two dance partners. Kalālayam’s first performance, Abhaya (May 2014), raised awareness for victims of human trafficking. Tharini also serves as the Assistant Artistic Director of the Kalapeetham Foundation, and is deeply committed to teaching and instilling the love and appreciation of dance in the enthusiastic students that are part of the Kalapeetham family.
SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCES
At a young age, Tharini has to her credit an impressive roster of performances. Tharini was chosen as a finalist to perform solo at the prestigious Spirit of Youth Festival at the Music Academy, Madras in 2012. In September 2013, she collaborated with Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer Mythili Prakash for the world premiere of Mythili’s production MARA, which was presented at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. Her full-length duet performances with Sheejith Krishna in Los Angeles, Lancaster, Baltimore and Toronto have received much critical acclaim. During her four-month stay in India, Tharini also performed in a Sahrdaya group performance “Gopala Ratnam,” which was presented on the 1st of January 2014 at Balamandir German Hall in Chennai.
Just recently, on March 28th 2015, Tharini performed in Sheejith Krishna’s production Don Quixote, which premiered at the Music Academy, Madras. Tharini will be touring along with the rest of the Don Quixote troupe throughout the U.S. and Canada in the summer of 2015. This tour includes a performance on October 3rd 2015, at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
A WOMAN OF MANY TRADES
In addition to her many achievements in dance, Tharini is also a skilled make-up artist. She worked for several years as a free-lance make-up artist for the well-known cosmetics company, Bobbi Brown. She continues to work as a freelance make-up artist for fashion, bridal beauty, theatre, and Bharatanatyam, in her spare time.
Tharini was also named as the “Face of Bhindi Jewellers,” in a competition held by the well-known Cerritos based beauty chain, ZIBA, in 2006. She has since served as the face model and brand representative for ZIBA and was featured on the cover of their 20th Anniversary magazine in 2006. In 2014, Tharini was also selected to be a model for the well-known hair styling salon “DRYBAR.” She was featured in the DRYBAR stylebook, which is available to DRYBAR clientele in all 48 DRYBAR salons across the United States, as well as Sephora stores.