Martina Meenakshi Argada

🪔 About

Martina Meenakshi Argada is an Italian classical Indian dancer and yoga teacher, who began her classical dance training at the early age of six. She holds a degree in Oriental Studies, specializing in Arabic, from “La Sapienza” University in Rome. Her thesis explored the continuity and change in the musical tradition of North India and Pakistan, focusing on the Pakistani Sufi singer 'Abida Parveen'. Her extensive artistic training in Indian classical dance began in 2005 when she attended workshops in Bharatanatyam and subsequently studied the form for six years with Usha Ragavan at Kalasagara in Rome. In 2013, she moved to India to deepen her studies with prestigious Indian teachers and choreographers. She pursued Kuchipudi dance at the Kerala Kalamandalam University for Art and Culture, learning from Classical Indian Dancer Kalamandalam RajaLakshmi C.n., who praised her "exquisite Abhinaya" (expressive techniques). In December 2014, she further refined her Kuchipudi style with Vyjayanthi Kashi, a renowned teacher, dancer, and choreographer at the “Shambavi dance school” in Bangalore, who described Argada as "talented" and noted her ability to "spread deep emotions". From January 2017, she continued to improve her style with the Kuchipudi exponent Sree Kishore Mosalikanti. She also attended a special Kuchipudi Masterclass in Rome by Shantala Shivalingappa in June 2017. Argada is a certified Yoga teacher from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta ashram and has spent time as staff at the Meenakshi ashram in Madurai, later teaching at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta center in Chennai from December 2016 to May 2017. She lived in Beirut for three years, where she taught Yoga and classical Indian dance at the Indian Embassy. During her time in Beirut, she collaborated with Lebanese NGOs like Abaad and DRC, utilizing Indian classical dance and drama in group therapy activities for women, mothers with children, and teenage girls, particularly in the context of the Syrian conflict. This work reflects her belief that art should serve a valuable role in integrating human rights education into performance. After moving to Chennai in December 2016 for further studies and teaching, she returned to Italy in March 2019.