Virtual Mahotsavam / Week #5 - Carnatic vocal concert by Kum. Ajitha Balasubramanian on 08/01//20

In week #5 of the Virtual Mahotsavam series, ICAPS will feature the talented carnatic vocal artist Kum. Ajitha Balasubramanian.  Her concert will premiere live on ICAPS Richmond YouTube channel on Saturday, August 1st at 10 AM EST. 

You can learn more about the artist by watching her interview posted below.  Mark your calendar today to enjoy this concert.

Bio of Kum. Ajitha Balasubramanian

Ajitha Bala is an upcoming vocal artist from Northern Virginia, USA. Ajitha is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA.
Ajitha has been trained in vocal and veena by her mother, Villianur G Lalitha. Currently, she is receiving advanced training from Vidwan Maharajapuram Ramachandran, while continuing her tutelage with her mother. Ajitha has given concerts at various sabhas in Chennai during December Music Season for the past 4 years. She was a finalist in Carnatic Music Idol USA Junior.

Ajitha was blessed to receive a trophy for her outstanding performance at the hands of Dr. Balamurali Krishna in 2014 at the DC metro Junior competition.

In her free time, Ajitha enjoys writing and producing Western pop music.

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Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to enjoy the weekly ICAPS Virtual Mahotsavam series of concerts and dance performances by a versatile group of artists.

Virtual Mahotsavam / Week #4 - Bharatanatyam dance by Kum. Madhavi Reddi on 7/25/20

In week #4 of the Virtual Mahotsavam series, ICAPS will be featuring the talented Bharatanatyam artist Kum. Madhavi Reddi.  Her dance performance will premiere live on ICAPS Richmond YouTube channel on Saturday, July 25th at 10 AM EST. 

Mark your calendar today to enjoy this program.

Bio of Madhavi Reddi

Madhavi Reddi received her training in Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of Smt. Padmarani Rasiah Cantu of the Fine Arts Society, Yogaville, VA starting at the age of 4. She has also received training from Sri VP and Smt Shanta Dhananjayan, both at the Natya Adyayana Gurukulam summer camps at Yogaville, VA as well as at Bharatakalanjali, Chennai. In 2010, Madhavi did her arangetram and has since been performing regularly both in the United States and in India. In addition to performing, she conducts lecture demonstrations at schools and community events. Madhavi is also a core dancer at Prakriti Dance, a Maryland based dance company directed by Kasi Aysola.


As both a multimedia artist and current PhD student at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Madhavi uses her backgrounds in Bharatanatyam, music, filmmaking, photography, and media studies to create artistic and academic work that encourage dialogue about the profound role of art, media, and culture in our lives.

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Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to enjoy the weekly ICAPS Virtual Mahotsavam series of concerts and dance performances by a versatile group of artists.  

Virtual Mahotsavam / Week #3 - Hindustani vocal concert by Sri. Vijay Rachakonda on 07/18/20

In week #3 of the Virtual Mahotsavam series, ICAPS will be featuring the talented, young vocalist Sri. Vijay Rachokonda from North Carolina.  His Hindustani vocal concert will premiere live on ICAPS Richmond YouTube channel on Saturday, July 18th at 10 AM EST. 

Mark your calendar today to tune in and enjoy this concert this weekend.

Bio of Sri. Vijay Rachakonda

Vijay Rachakonda is a recent college graduate from UNC Chapel Hill with a major in Computer Science. His music journey started at the age of 4 with Carnatic Vocal Music. He started training under Smt. Mallika Akella in Charlotte and when he was about 11 he started tutelage under Smt. Charumathi Ramachandran of the GNB/MLV Bani. He has performed several Carnatic Vocal concerts in North Carolina and he has participated in the Sustaining Sampradhaya Program for the 2010 and 2015 Cleveland Thyagaraja Festivals.

Recently, he has started learning Hindustani music (Khayal styles) from Smt. Meena Fatarpekar of the Kirana Gharana school. He hopes to bring his knowledge in Carnatic Music to Hindustani Music and one day blend the styles in a unique way. Along with Indian Classical Vocal music, Vijay enjoys playing guitar and learning Jazz as well as other forms of Western Music. For fun, he likes reading, yoga, running, and being outdoors. He currently works in the IT consulting field.

    

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Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to enjoy the weekly ICAPS Virtual Mahotsavam series of concerts and dance performances by a versatile group of artists. 

Virtual Mahosavam / Week #2 - Kuchipudi dance by Sri. Kasi Aysola on 7/11/20

In week #2 of the Virtual Mahotsavam, ICAPS will be featuring the talented dance artist Sri. Kasi Aysola.  His Kuchipudi performance will premiere live on ICAPS Richmond YouTube channel on Saturday, July 11th at 10 AM EST.  

Mark your calendar today to enjoy this program.

Bio of Sri. Kasi Aysola

Kasi Aysola is an evocative dance artist who is making his mark in the United States. He is the Co-founder & Artistic Director of Prakriti Dance, an innovative dance company that is on the rise in the world of dance. Kasi is a Bharata Natyam dancer, choreographer, and nattuvangam artist who trained under his Guru Viji Prakash in Bharata Natyam and mentors under world renowned performer Mythili Prakash. He has also trained in Kuchipudi under the late Guru Vempati Ravi Shankar, and continues his training under Yamini Saripalli. Kasi is pursuing both forms with hopes to inspire new generations of dancers to delve into the world of Indian performing arts. 

He has been privileged to study and work with leading exponents of Indian dance and has performed solo and group work in the US, India and abroad. As a Nattuvangam artist (vocal percussion) he has accompanied many artists in live performances such as Mythili Prakash, Ragamala Dance Company, Aparna Ramaswamy, Rama Vaidyanathan and Janaki Rangarajan. He has received recognition and funding from various organizations including National YoungArts Foundation, Montgomery County Arts and Humanities Council, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Maryland States Arts Council.

A versatile and composite artist, he has studied Carnatic music under Smt. Vanaja Dasika.

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Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to enjoy the weekly ICAPS Virtual Mahotsavam series of concerts and dance performances by a versatile group of artists.

Virtual Mahosavam series - #1 Carnatic vocal concert by Kum. Maya and Malavi Ravindran on 07/04/20

ICAPS will be hosting a virtual Mahotsavam this year in July and August.  This will be a series of music concerts and dance performances by professional artists of US origin.  Every Saturday at 10 AM EST, we will premiere one artist live on our YouTube channel ICAPSRichmond.  

ICAPS's Virtual Mahotsavam is scheduled to begin this weekend, on Saturday, July 4th at 10 AM with a carnatic vocal concert by Kum. Maya and Malavi Ravindran.  They will be accompanied on the mridangam by their father Sri. Ravi Ravindran.

Bio of Maya and Malavi Ravindran

Maya Ravindran is a  student at the University of Richmond, pursuing a degree in law. She earned her undergraduate degree from the College of William & Mary in Virginia majoring in Government & Public Health.

Malavi Ravindran is a junior at Duke University, pursuing a dual degree in computing and statistics.

Maya and Malavi started learning Carnatic music at a very young age under Smt. Shyamala Narasimhan. Now they continue to train for concert singing under their father Sri. Ravi Ravindran.

Maya’s first public performance was at the age of 5 in the Richmond Thyagaraja utsavam. Malavi soon followed, quickly becoming a co-performer with Maya. Maya was recognized with a prize for her raga alapana and Ragam Tanam Pallavi, at the Cleveland Aradhana competitions in the USA.  Malavi was recognized with a prize in the Carnatic Whistle category.

Both Maya and Malavi have been featured regularly in the premier sabhas of Chennai, India, during the Margazhi music festival. 

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Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel to enjoy the weekly ICAPS Virtual Mahotsavam series of concerts and dance performances by a versatile group of artists.

4/26/20 Varnam Aradhana event POSTPONED!

Due to public safety concerns with the outbreak of the coronavirus, the ICAPS committee has voted to postpone the Varnam Aradhana event until further notice.

All the participants, who had registered for the 4/26/20 Varnam Aradhana event, will be contacted with a new date at a later time.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Varnam Aradhana 2020

***REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT***

Event - Varnam Aradhana
Date - 04/26/2020
Time - 4 to 8.30 PM
Venue - Sai temple @ Manakin Sabot, VA

ICAPS is hosting a thematic presentation of Varnams on Sunday, April 26th, 2020 from 4 to 8.30 PM.

Solo or groups of up to 3 students can share a slot to present their varnam of choice in 2 speeds.

We want to encourage variety in presentation so please specify the varnam's ragam & composer in the 'Comment' field so repetition can be avoided, where possible.

Each SOLO slot is priced at a nominal $10 AND GROUP slots are $5 per student. The fees will need to be paid at the front desk on the day of the event.

Participants should arrive atleast 30 minutes before their slot to register.  ICAPS reserves the right to change the order of the participants, should they arrive late to register.

Thank you for supporting ICAPS.