Artist Name: Smt Mrinalini Sadanada
Place: Washington DC, USA
School/Organization: Kalamandapam
Website(s): http://www.kalamandapam.org/
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/mrinalinisadananda
Interviews: Interview with Mallika Jayanti
Contact:
Email: info@kalamandapam.org
Phone: (001) 703-879-6090
Profile: http://www.kalamandapam.org/about.html#Smt._Mrinalini_Sadananda
Posted below with permission from the artist
Smt. Mrinalini Sadananda hails from a family of artists. Her father Vinjamuri Parthasarathy Iyengar and mother Smt. Kamala Devi nurtured each of their 7 children into one art form or another. Her father was a well-known lawyer by profession but had a great love of the violin. Her mother was a dedicated housewife and an accomplished violinist in her own right. Mrinalini was introduced to dance at a very young age. Over the years, her Gurus (teachers) have included her own sister Mrs. Hemalatha NaramhaChari, Burra Subramanya Sastry, Chinta Raddha KrishnaMurty, Adinarayana Sarma, Mahankali Surya Narayana, SathyaPriya Ramana and Dr. Vempati Chinna Sathyam. She feels strongly that their dedication to this art has molded her in to what she is today. In addition, her Drama teacher Sri Mandapati Ramalingeswara Rao helped her understand the importance of facial expressions for which she is very well known.
Mrinalini is married to Dr. K Sadananda, the son of a great Telugu and Sanskrit scholar Sri. Kuntimaddi Seshasarma and JayaLakshmi. He has always supported her passion for dance and encouraged her to continue refining the art within her after emigrating to the United States. She began by performing extensively across the United States. About 20 years ago she took on the mantle of Guru and it is this role she has flourished. Most importantly she has continued the tradition of her own Gurus by passing this art to countless youngsters. In this endeavor she began as a volunteer teacher for 7 years at Gandhi Memorial Center and for 7 years at the Chinmaya Mission, both in the metropolitan Washington DC area. In 1993, she established Kalamandapam as an institute dedicated to dance and music. As a vehicle for her own creative impetus and as a means to motivate her students, she has put on several dance ballets.
