Meghana Ravikumar Performs Indian Dance in Campbell

An ancient performing art of India, with all its colorful sights and distinctive sounds, will revive in Silicon Valley through a 16-year-old girl's solo performance.

Cupertino High School student Meghana Ravikumar will perform a type of Indian Classical Dance called Bharathanatyam at Campbell Heritage Theatre at 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

Bharathanatyam is one of India's most ancient and exquisite dance forms, which originated in the temples of South India in the 4th century B.C. It is made up of two parts: Bharatha and Natyam.

Bharatha consists of Bha, which stands for Bhava and means expression; Ra, which stands for Raga and means melody; and Tha, which stands for Talam and means rhythm.

The second part, Natyam, means dance and drama.

Saturday's show is a specific type of Bharathanatyam performance, called an arangetram. Arangetram is a Tamil (South Indian language) word that means "ascent to the stage." It's usually the debut performance of a student after many years of intensive training.

For Arangetram, the Guru (teacher) presents the dancer to the community, and the student delivers a full-length solo performance to demonstrate her proficiency in all aspects of this dance form.

Meghana has been learning this art form for seven years from her teacher, Guru Meena Logan, who moved to America in 1996 and founded the Pushpanjali Dance Academy to promote Bharatanatyam.

Visit Pushpanjali Dance Academy's website for more information about dance classes and Bharatanatyam.

Click here for address and more information on Campbell Heritage Theatre.