Nritya Sankalpa

Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale is the founder of Kalakshetra Foundation, whose curriculum we follow at Nritya Sankalpa Dance Academy. She was born in February of 1904 and grew up in the environment of the Theosophical Society. As a result of her marriage to Dr. George Arundale, she was able to travel internationally and was exposed to many fascinating art forms. Smt. Rukmini Devi developed a passion for ballet and performances, and eventually honed in on the art form of bharatanatyam. She worked extremely hard in her early thirties in order to precisely absorb every detail of the dance. Her first performance was given at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Theosophical Society in 1935. This marked an era of changes to the way bharatanatyam was presented: this was the first time a dance program was given as a stage performance. In addition, the musicians were seated on the side of the stage instead of following the dancer's location on the stage, and the costumes and jewelry were altered for a more pleasing aesthetic. Smt. Rukmini Devi was not fully satisfied, however; she wanted to find a younger generation of dancers who would aid her in reviving and enriching bharatanatyam. Kalakshetra was created as a result of this desire. APRAN, an offering, is a student initiative at Nritya Sankalpa through which the students perceive, prepare & present an entire performance to aid a few charities both locally & internationally. Our first ARPAN was held on April 8, 2006 and was the brainchild of our student, Kanya Manoj. Since then, Nritya Sankalpa has raised funds through this student initiative in subsequent years to be benefit non-profit organizations located in United States & around the world. Students develop organizational and leadership skills through ARPAN and also learn the value of volunteering their time towards important causes.