Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Shivani Kulkarni
The Guru
Alpana Kagal Jacob began learning Bharatanatyam at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Smt. Revathi Satyu. She furthered her training with Guru Sri Mahalingam Pillai, Sri U.S. Krishna Rao, Smt. Chandrabhaga Devi, Smt. Padmini Ravi, Smt. Priyadarsini Govind, and Smt. Radhika Ganesh. She has performed in numerous dance productions and in 1995, toured India with a folk-dance group called “Sundara Manamadhe Bharali.” She has conducted various master classes in universities, colleges, and museums across the DFW metroplex. Alpana received the Larry White Award for Excellence in Dance Education from the Dance Council of North Texas in October 2017. She teaches for Arathi School of Dance and resides in Frisco, TX, with her husband Pavin and three children Savini, Jude, and Siena along with their beloved cat Mel.
The Dancer
Shivani’s classical dance journey began at the age of eight under Smt. Guru Bela Vasavada. She has been learning under Smt. Guru Alpana Kagal Jacob since the age of ten. Shivani’s passion for dance has been a transformative part of her life and will continue to grow in years to come. Bharatanatyam has given Shivani inspiration, poise, maturity, and, perhaps most importantly, the gift of storytelling. She is incredibly grateful for her guru (whom she fondly calls “Alpana Aunty”), all the dancers she has gotten to dance with over the years, the Arathi School community, and the dance teachers whose workshops helped her develop her dance skills (Smt. Priyadarsini Govind, Dr. Seshadri Iyengar, Smt. Rama Vaidyanathan, Rukmini Vijayakumar, Navia Natarajan). Currently, Shivani is a freshman at Rice University and is a member of Rice’s South Asian classical dance team, the Rasikas.