Vivek Ramanan

🪔 About

Vivek Ramanan is a dynamic artist who uniquely blends the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam with the Carnatic percussive arts of konnakol and mridangam. He has established himself as a professional solo performer over five years, recognized for his compelling storytelling, charismatic stage presence, and technical precision. Ramanan's artistic voice is deeply rooted in Carnatic music and percussion, allowing for the integration of musical composition and improvisation with the expressive movement, intricate footwork, and narrative power of Bharatanatyam. His foundational Bharatanatyam training was under Smt. Madhusri Sethuraman in Texas and Smt. Vidhya Subramanian in California. He also trained in mridangam with Sri Ramesh Srinivasan and is currently undergoing advanced konnakol training with Sri Manjunath BC, and advanced Bharatanatyam training with Dr. Apoorva Jayaraman. Vivek Ramanan has performed extensively across the United States and India, presenting both classical repertoire and original thematic works. Beyond solo performances, he is a choreographer and has co-created stage productions exploring new thematic ideas within the Bharatanatyam grammar. In 2018, he co-founded Samsthana Dance with Aarthy Sundar and Surya Ravi. He is also a nattuvangam and vocal percussionist with the Kritya Ensemble, a national touring Kuchipudi ensemble. Ramanan has composed several pieces of music using konnakol and mridangam for both live and video performances. He is also known for his work with IndianRaga, where he was a Fellow in 2016 and a Creative Director in 2017, conceptualizing and filming numerous Indian music and dance productions that have garnered millions of views and popularized Bharatanatyam on social media. Awards & Honours: National YoungArts Finalist for Bharatanatyam (2014), IndianRaga Fellow (2016), IndianRaga Creative Director (2017), Make Art Grant (2022).