Bhimavarapu Sisters To Showcase Their Dancing Skills

All eyes will be on the Bhimavarapu sisters – Lakshmi Keerthana and Namratha Shri – when they take centre-stage at Ravindra Bharathi on Saturday 19 August 2023 from 6pm onwards. Born to Praveena and Madhu Bhimavarapu, Keerthana and Namratha, began learning the Kuchipudi dance form under Guru Deepika Reddy, founder of Deepanjali, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and Chairperson Telangana Sangeet Natak Akademi at the ages of eight and six respectively. The love for dance has bound the sisters and they have taken their time-off from academics to present their Rangapravesam and bring smiles on the faces of their parents and grandparents – Suseela Devi Bhimavarapu, Venkata Lakshmi & Venkateswara Rao Puppala. 

Distinguished Guests: On this auspicious occasion, T Harish Rao, Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, Telangana Govt., distinguished guests – K. Padmanabhaiah, Padma Bhushan Awardee, IAS (Retd.), Former Home Secretary; Tanikella Bharani, Eminent Actor, Writer, Director & Poet; Prof. Anuradha (J) Tadakamalla, Kuchipudi exponent, University of Hyderabad; and G. Srividya Reddy, Educationalist, Gender Advocate & Entrepreneur will be present to bless the young artists.

Noticing dancing skills in Keerthana, mother Praveena enrolled her in Guru Deepika Reddy’s class. For Keerthana, classical dance and music have been close to her heart since a kid. A proud alumna of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Public School, Keerthana is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at Manipal School of Architecture and Planning and is determined to make a mark for herself with the dance form. After gruelling training under Guru Deepika Reddy, Keerthana has perfected complex footwork and abhinaya with ease.

Budding Architect: The budding architect has been part of prominent Deepanjali productions including “Shiva Satheeyam”, “Rukmini Krishna”, and “Telangana Vaibhavam”. She recounts that her memorable performances were at the Hampi Utsav and 1000 pillar temple at Warangal, both of which are deemed as UNESCO world heritage sites, the Udvigna Dance Festival, the Kalinga Natyotsav, the closing ceremony of Prapancha Telugu Mahasabhalu, Gudi Sambaralu, and the salient G2O Agricultural Ministers Meeting.

After completing Class X from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Public School and Class XII from Glendale Academy International, Namratha, who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in the US, followed her elder sister in learning dance. Training under the watchful eyes of her Guru, the US-based student shaped into a captivating performer. Some of Namratha’s memorable group performances include those at the closing ceremony of the Prapancha Telugu Mahasabhalu, the Udvigna Dance Festival, the Kalinga Dance Festival, Sham-E-Hyderabad of the Hyderabad Dance Festival, the opening ceremony of the CM Cup and the G20 Agricultural Ministers Meeting. 

Keerthana balances academics, dancing and all her other interests with consistent discipline and vigour. She has honed the art of painting, which she has learnt for over six years, winning titles at multiple state-level competitions. One can find her art work on display in various reputed hospitals across Hyderabad. Keerthana is not only a nimble footed dancer, but also a committed athletics trainee. A district level Kho-Kho player, she has brought many laurels to her school. 

Namratha, Athlete Too: Not only in dance, but also in athletics, Namratha has followed her sister. At the district level, on various occasions, Namratha represented her school’s basketball team as the team captain and achieved many awards. In addition to her 12 years of training in Kuchipudi, Namratha has also dedicated three years to learning Carnatic music. Also, she started an innovative project of making and selling handmade organic candles through Instagram during the pandemic, showcasing her craftiness and business skills.

On their special day, the sisters will open the evening’s performance with Adi Shankaracharya’s ‘Ganesha Pancharathnam’ set in Ragamalika and Adi (Tisragati) talaam, which has been beautifully choreographed by Deepika Reddy. This will be followed by N Ch Krishnamacharyulu’s ‘Gowri Sukumari’ tuned in Vasantha ragaam and Adi talaam also choreographed by their Guru. Keerthana and Namratha will then perform Kuchipudi doyen Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam choreographed ‘Bhama Pravesa Daruvu’ tuned to Bhairavi ragam and Misrachapu talaam. The last two items have too been choreographed by Guru Deepika Reddy. They are Narayana Theertha’s ‘Shiva Misra hapu Bhava Misra hapu Sharanam’ set in Ragamalika and Adi talaam set to music by DSV Sastry and Swathi Tirunal’s Thillana in Dhanasri ragaam and Adi talaam. 

True Cultural Envoy: Groomed by the legendary Guru Padma Bhushan awardee Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, Deepika Reddy is acknowledged as one of the leading exponents of the Kuchipudi art form in the present times. Deepika Reddy’s journey in dance started five decades ago, and she is recognized as an accomplished performer, a creative choreographer, a cultural ambassador and a dedicated Guru. Winner of many awards and honours touring across the nation and the globe performing for the country, Deepika Reddy is a name to reckon with in the dancing fraternity.  The month of August is very special for Guru Deepika Reddy, whose students – Sumukha Reddy, Ananya Polsani, Jenitha and Malyadha have performed their Rangapravesam and now Keerthana and Namratha are joining the bandwagon.  

The music accompanists include Guru Deepika Reddy on Nattuvangam, Dandibhotla Srinivasa Venkata Sastry on Vocals, K. Rajagopalacharya on Mridangam, K. Sai Kumar on Violin, V.B.S. Murali on Flute.