YUVA is a collaborative choreography and performance platform for young and talented Indian classical artists (dance and music), curated and presented by Silambam Houston. YUVA strives to catalyze collaboration and creativity among young upcoming artists in the Indian classical arts and to encourage them to 'find their artistic voice'. YUVA Artists, selected from among a pool of applicants, collaborate to create new artistic works for presentation at the YUVA festival.
YUVA 2025 features 10 talented artists from across the globe, and will take place on September 6, 2025.
The artists of the 2025 cohort represent a range of Indian and other arts genres, including Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, contemporary dance, Carnatic vocal and veena, mridangam, tabla, nattuvangam, and konnakol. They have been working together for months to create a new collaborative work, titled
‘Samashti: Ten Avataras, One Destiny’
Scroll down to learn more about the YUVA 2025 artist cohort and their work!
Buy Tickets to YUVA 2025!
The YUVA 2025 performance is now available to view on demand! Click above to access the online stream. Available only until September 14 at 7 pm.
Tickets are ‘pay what you can’ until Aug 24.
You set the price, and your purchase allows us to compensate the emerging artists who are the creative backbone of YUVA 2025.
From the YUVA 2025 Cohort
Samashti is a powerful reimagining of the Dashavatar, where the incarnations of Lord Vishnu converge beyond time and myth. Stripped of divine certainty, they confront each other—questioning the morality behind their actions, the cost of justice, and the balance between duty and compassion. Through poetry, music, and movement, the avatars reflect on their choices while facing a new darkness that cannot be defeated by might alone. As divine identities dissolve, what remains is not just the story of gods, but of humanity itself.
Follow Rama and Krishna as they point out hypocrisies in their own legacies, Vamana and Parashurama as they debate prejudice based on birth, Narasimha and Buddha as they identify the most ethical way to administer justice, and Matsya, Kurma and Varaha as they work together to prevent knowledge from reaching the wrong hands. All the avatars are eventually drawn together to speculate the true nature of Kalki.
The music in our show is primarily original, while taking inspiration and paying homage to the work of Kavi Jayadeva, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Vidwan Madurai N Sri Krishnan, Sri Madhavacharya, Pandit Chitresh Das, Kavi Sahodaran Ayyappan, Shri KSR Aniruddha, Ramana Balachandran, and scriptures.
Thank you to Silambam Houston for your gracious support during this residency along with costumes, lights, and studio credits to the Silambam team.
CREDITS
Concept, Direction, Choreography:
YUVA 2025 Cohort
Supporting Artists:
Srikar Satish (flute) | Tejas Kolhatkar (tabla)
Lighting Design
Kaavya Rajarathnam | YUVA 2025 Cohort
Stage Management:
Aditi Abbaraju | Reethi Kavaipatti
Rehearsal Space:
Silambam Houston Cultural Arts Center
Performance Space:
Marie Spence Flickinger Fine Arts Center at San Jacinto College South Campus
Facilitated and Presented by:
Silambam Houston
YUVA 2025 Artists
Click or hover on each tile to learn more about each of the talented artists of the YUVA 2025 cohort!
Meghma Banerjee Meghma Banerjee began Kathak in Kolkata under Srimati Sumitra Mitra, later getting her core training with Late Pt. Chitresh Das. She performed at the 2016 Learn Quest Music Conference opening. She also trained with Late Pt. Bachanlal Mishra, Pt. Satya Narayan Charka, and Late Pt. Birju Maharaj. In 2017, she co-founded the Indian Classical Arts Society (ICAS) at UMASS Amherst. She runs a Kathak school in Canton, MA, and teaches at the Center School of Dance and Windsor School. A guest artist in India and the U.S., she has lectured at Northeastern University on "Math in Motion." She is the co-founder and creative director of Souls of India.
Charvi Chintada started learning Kuchipudi at the age of 4.5 years from Late Guru Dr. Chinta Adinarayana Sharma. Since his passing from COVID, she has been a disciple of Guru Dr. Chinta Ravi Balakrishna. She is learning Carnatic vocal music and Veena from Sri. C.V Balram Kumar. She has received Certificate and Diploma with Highest Marks in practical from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University. She has performed extensively in US and India.
Sneha Mahesh, a disciple of Kalaimamani Smt. Priya Murle, is a Doordarshan-graded artist, CCRT Govt. scholarship recipient, and a recipient of multiple awards, including Yuva Kala Bharathi (2022). Holding an MSc from BITS Pilani and a Masters in Bharatanatyam from the University of Madras, she consistently performs—both solo and in ensembles—at esteemed sabhas across India and has toured the US with her guru and colleagues for a thematic production (2023), upholding tradition with grace and innovation.
Sharanya Swaminathan is a Bharatanatyam artist. She is the disciple of Smt. Aishwarya Balasubramanian, with her formative training being from Smt. Sudha Chandrasekhar. She has performed across the U.S. and India, receiving accolades including the ‘Natya Kalamani’ title from Naadam Nrithyakalasurabhi and ‘Michigan Indian Icon’. Sharanya has collaborated with artists across the world as an IndianRaga Fellow and through productions at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival. She performed during the Margazhi and Aadi Dance Festivals in Chennai, including debuts at the prestigious Vani Mahal and Brahma Gana Sabha. Sharanya is studying business at the University of Michigan, and is passionate about using the arts to create impact.
Anjali Prabhala was initiated into music at an early age under her parents, Srini and Uma Prabhala. She later pursued advanced training under senior Gurus - Vid. Vizianagaram Vardhani, Vidushi. Sriranjani Santhanagopalan, Vidwan. Vishnudev Namboothiri and currently under the guidance of Vidushi Amrutha Venkatesh. Anjali is a graded artist from All India Radio and holds a Diploma in Carnatic music from Potti Sriramulu University, Hyderabad. She is currently pursuing her masters in Carnatic Classical Music at the University of SiliconAndhra.
She has performed extensively at various Sabhas in USA and India, including the prestigious Chennai December season, Nadaneerajam at Tirumala, and Mysore Dattha Peetam. She has recorded music for many award winning Classical and Devotional albums, short and feature films like Sreekaram. She has sung for several Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi recitals and dance productions in India and USA. She teaches vocal music under the Amritavarshini academy banner in the DFW area. Anjali is a Computer science graduate from the University of Texas Dallas and currently works as a software engineer.
Jeevika Bhat is a Manhattan based dancer and choreographer who explores the confluence of her cultures through a contemporary Indian medium. Her background is in Odissi, which she studies under the guidance of Guru Jyoti Rout. Academically, she is a graduate of UC San Diego, where she earned a BS in Mathematics with minors in Linguistics and Dance, and UC Irvine, where she earned an MFA in Dance.
Arjun Acharya, 20, is a biochemistry major and passionate artist with 10+ years of Bharatanatyam training under Smt. Suchitra Sairam at Kala Vandanam (St. Paul, MN). A 2024 YoungArts Winner With Distinction, he has performed nationally and mentors young artists. Arjun also explores creativity through tabla, mridangam, konnakkol, nattuvangam, drums, filmmaking, and action sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing—his unique take on performance art.
Arathi Prabhala began her Vocal and Veena training at an early age under her parents, Srinivas and Uma Prabhala, and also received advanced training from Sri. D. Srinivas. She holds an Advanced Diploma with Distinction in Carnatic music from the University of Silicon Andhra and has performed at various Sabhas in the USA, as well as at the prestigious Marghazhi season in Chennai. Arathi is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and supports dance arangetrams and productions with Veena accompaniment. Her deep connection to Carnatic music inspires her to share the art form with others through both performance and teaching. Recently, she graduated with a master’s in Speech-Language Pathology from UT Dallas and is currently working as a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Keerthana Venkatesh is a Bharatanatyam artist and an emerging scholar in biomedical engineering whose work lies at the intersection of classical dance, human movement science, and rehabilitation. She is a senior disciple of Guru Smt. Thejaswini Raj and was awarded the title “Natya Kala Margashirsha” by the All India Dancers Association (AIDA). Her artistic accomplishments also include securing 1st place in the AIDA Margazhi Festival 2025 and winning the 2021 IndianRaga Global Dance Championship. She represents a new generation of artist-researchers advancing both cultural tradition and scientific innovation through interdisciplinary practice.
Swarashri Shridhar, a Kathak dancer and choreographer is the disciple of Dr. Pali Chandra. Swarashri’s niche is to build choreographies around mental health and social well being, having performed them worldwide (Al Hosn Festival UAE, World Art Dubai, NCPA Mumbai, Kochi Biennale Kerala, Swiss International Kathak Festival and UK). Taking interest in Theatre and Music, she learns Carnatic Music from Smt. Rajani Shridhar, has explored the art of Konnakol & Nattuvangam.
Previous editions of YUVA
click on each poster to view highlights
