Bharata Natyam is an ancient dance form that originated in the temples and palaces of Tamil Nadu, South India. It consists of graceful dance steps as well as storytelling, using hand mudras and facial expression. Dancer and educator Anine DeGrood and her student Bianca Iannitti, will give a demonstartion and lecture on this special dance form!

Anine de Grood started learning Bharata Natyam dance from Dr. Saskia C. Kersenboom in 1997, later adding training in veena and vocal Karnatak music. Anine has a MA in Social Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam and a Master of Divinity from Boston University. Anine has studied dance and music in the West as well as in India, with Saskia Kersenboom and her teacher Smt. Nandini Ramani. Please visit hamsinidance.com for more information.

Bianca Iannitti is a PhD candidate of Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University and a Lecturer in the Music Department of Central Connecticut State University. Bianca received a MA in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University and a BA in Music at Wheaton College. Since 2017, Bianca has studied South Indian Karnatak vocal music and represented Wesleyan University by performing with an ensemble of fellow students at the annual Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival. She has also completed several intensive workshops on the Devadasi music/dance tradition in Tamil Nadu, South India under the tutelage of Dr. Saskia C. Kersenboom. In 2017, Bianca started her formal Bharatanatyam dance training in the Kandappa- T. Balasaraswati tradition under the instruction of Anine de Grood.