Hari Eranki

Artist Name: Sri Hari Eranki

Place: HongKong City, HongKong

School/Organization:

Hari Om's Dance Society (HODS)

Employers: Pure Yoga

Website: http://www.hods.com.hk/

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/HODS2008

Interviews:
Interview in Sakshi newspaper ;

ETV Video Interview

Contact: http://www.hods.com.hk/contactus.html

Email: hods2008@hotmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Master-Hari-Om/75379746912

Pictures and profile posted with permission from the artist.
Profile: http://www.hods.com.hk/profile.html

Eranki Srihari Baladitya (Hari Om) was born to a family of traditional musicians and dancers. Both his parents Late E. Nagamamba and Prof. E.S. Murty were highly respected professors of History. He started learning Kuchipudi dance at the very young age of 3 under the tutelage of the legendary Guru Sri Pasumarthi Sitaramiah, an exponent of the true and traditional form of Kuchipudi dance. Under his guidance, Hari Om has performed since the age of 5 in various parts of India and won competitions on the district, state and national levels. As a child, he mainly performed in the female role following the Kuchipudi tradition and most of his performances were along with his guru performing Bhama Kalapam, which they performed all over Andhra Pradesh.

His most prestigious achievements include his participation in the 1994 and 1995 international Kuchipudi Dance Festivals in Mumbai and Hyderabad respectively, along with the likes of Swapna Sundari, Meenakshi Seshadri and other such great dance exponents. He also won a scholarship from The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training in New Delhi to study Kuchipudi for 8 years. Subsequently, he obtained a Diploma in Kuchipudi dance from the Telugu University, Hyderabad in 1995.

Apart from learning Kuchipudi in Pasumarti tradition, Hari had also learnt from the Kuchipudi Kalakshetra , Visakhapatnam in the Vempaty tradition under Smt . Bala Kondala Rao and Sri Hari Ram Murty from 1989 for a period of 3 years. He also learnt Bharat Natyam from Sri. A. Rukmaji Rao for a couple of years from 1991. He had also learnt Andhra Natyam and Perini Shiva Tandavam from Sri Nataraj Parameswaran for a couple of years from 1986. He also obtained a certificate in Mridangam from the Telugu University, Hyderabad in 1999.

In 1992, Late E . Nagamamba, his mother, had started a Music and Dance school called Sri Gowthami Kala Vihara, where Hari started teaching. Since then, he has trained several hundreds of aspiring dancers to study and practice his traditional form of Kuchipudi dance and held several performances in prestigious occasions and his students won several prizes in various dance competitions and laurels in all their performances.

In 2003, Hari was invited to work in a Yoga Center in Hong Kong where he became the trendsetter of Kuchipudi, Semi classical Indian dance and Bollywood styles. His popularity as a teacher has prompted all the other yoga centers to have this kind of dance classes in their schedules and right now all forms of Indian dances are very popular in Hong Kong. Hari has carved a niche for himself amongst many dance teachers in Hong Kong by giving several performances and organizing shows apart from being the trendsetter of Indian dances in Hong Kong. The fact that he can equally teach and choreograph both classical and modern/Bollywood dance forms with equal finesse has given him a special place in his students’ hearts.