Mrinalini Sadananda

🪔 About

Mrinalini Sadananda is an internationally recognized Kuchipudi dancer, distinguished teacher, and outstanding choreographer, based in the Washington Metropolitan Area, USA. She hails from a family of artists in India; her father, Vinjamuri Parthasarathy Iyengar, was a lawyer with a keen interest in violin, and her mother, Kamala Devi, was an accomplished violinist. Mrinalini was introduced to dance at a very young age and received training from several esteemed gurus, including Dr. Vempati Chinna Sathyam, Burra Subramanya Sastry, Chinta Raddha Krishnamurty, Adinarayana Sarma, Mahankali Surya Narayana, Sathya Priya Ramana, and her sister Mrs. Hemalatha Naramha Chari. Her drama teacher, Sri Mandapati Ramalingeswara Rao, was instrumental in teaching her the importance of facial expressions, for which she is widely known. After emigrating to the United States with her supportive husband, Dr. K. Sadananda, she performed extensively across the country. She began her teaching career as a volunteer, dedicating seven years each to the Gandhi Memorial Center and the Chinmaya Mission in the Washington DC area. In 1993, Mrinalini Sadananda established Kalamandapam, a non-profit institute dedicated to Indian dance and music, which operates on the classical Indian “gurukul” principles. The institute provides rigorous training in Kuchipudi dance, Carnatic Music (violin, keyboard), and Yoga. As a creative impetus for herself and her students, she has choreographed and staged numerous Kuchipudi ballets, including "Bharat Sambhavam" at the John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts, "Andal Kalyanam," "Sarvam Vishnu Mayam," "Ramayanam," "Venkateswara Vaibhavam," "Sambhavami Yuge Yuge," "Sharanam Ayyappa," "Cheyyetti Jai Kottu," and "Bhaja Govindam." Beyond Kuchipudi, she has also learned Bharatanatyam.