A HUGE thank you to everyone for supporting Dhirana 2021! We hosted our first-ever virtual show this past Saturday! The past year has definitely surprised us all with the change to an entirely virtual setting and adapting our organization’s format. Although the circumstances were challenging at first, we preserved and fostered our love for classical dance into a successful livestream – we would not be able to do this without sponsors like you. We would also like to congratulate the winner of Dhirana 2021: RU Natya! We cannot believe that Dhirana 2021 is over, but we are excited to continue this tradition in the upcoming years.

Attention Indian classical dance fanatics! Dhirana 2021 is coming up in a few days: Saturday March 6, 2021 at 6:00 pm. This week, we are working on finalizing the finishing touches for the livestream and we hope you can join us on Saturday! Please remember to fill out the following google form if you would like to receive the livestream link: https://forms.gle/vd7Sv5b3GXKcyR6v7.    

We are also thrilled to announce the newly updated Dhirana website found at https://www.dhirana.com/! Please visit the website for more information and view the amazing hard work our design team put towards it.

Dhirana 2021 is almost two weeks away! We are diligently working towards organizing the livestream and planning all the logistics for the competition. We hope you are as excited as we are to view all of the performances and enjoy the show from the comfort of your home! As our sponsors, you are invited to watch the Dhirana competition. Please fill out the following form if you are interested in receiving the livestream link:  https://forms.gle/vd7Sv5b3GXKcyR6v7 

We have some exciting news for you all: the Dhirana 2021 lineup video has been released! Please enjoy this upbeat video our design committee created, introducing all of the dance teams competing for a chance to move on to the national Origins competition.

In addition to our lineup video, we would like to announce our lead sponsor: the Srinivasa Prasad International Fund for the Performing Arts! SPIFPA has supported Dhirana’s mission of preserving the art of Indian classical dance for many years and we are beyond thankful for their continued sponsorship.

Thank you for supporting Dhirana 2021! We really appreciate all of the contributions we have received from you. As you may know, eligible donors can have their name shown in the virtual brochure for Dhirana 2021 and/or the credits at the end of the show. For donors who have donated at least $100, this benefit applies to you! If you would like to have your name be shown in the brochure, credits, or both, please reach out to us at dhirana.sponsorship@gmail.com. Thank you and stay safe!

Thank you so much for helping us raise money for Dhirana 2021! We are beyond grateful for every donation we received. Every dollar goes towards an important cost that allows us to continue Dhirana every year. This year we raised a total of $4,204–a huge thank you to everyone! We are excited to be hosting a livestream for Dhirana in the upcoming spring where numerous dance teams from across the US will be performing. We hope everyone has a happy new year!

We are only a week away from the end of our EngagePitt campaign and we hope you all can help us reach it! Thank you so much for donating to Dhirana – your support will help us to host a virtual Dhirana competition this upcoming spring.

Now is the time for the final “Meet the Board” for Dhirana 2021! This segment is dedicated to the Outreach, Public Relations, Registration, and Ticketing Committees.

The Outreach Committee communicates with the Birmingham Free Clinic and organizes bonding and social events. The Outreach Co-chairs this year are Paushaly Sau – a junior majoring in Biology and History, and Roma Usgoankar – a sophomore majoring in Pre-Pharmacy. Paushaly and Roma have already organized some great virtual bonding events for Dhirana members! Somya Thakur and Neha Adda are the Outreach Assistant Chairs who contribute to the planning process for social events.

Shreya Babu, Meera Tikku, and Kavya Singh are the Public Relations (PR) Co-chairs for Dhirana 2021. Meera is a senior majoring in Communications, Shreya is a sophomore majoring in Sociology, and Kavya is a sophomore majoring in Economics and Math. This team of students creatively design social media posts and collaborate on different ways to promote Dhirana to the local community. You can visit our social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram to see some of Shreya, Meera, and Kavya’s work! The PR Assistant Chair - Mansi Avunoori - also works with the Co-chairs on their various projects.

The Registration Co-chairs this year are Shruthi Sethuraman – a senior Information Science major–and Mitali Belambe – a sophomore Computational Biology major. Shruthi and Mitali are in charge of creating the registration and exhibition packets, organizing team gifts, and helping select the competing teams. Shreya Boppudi and Saryu Patel are the Registration Assistant Chairs that work with Shruthi and Mitali.

The final chair to introduce for the Dhirana 2021 board is Aleena Somy – the Ticketing Chair. Aleena is a junior majoring in Rehabilitation Science. She is responsible for managing and keeping track of the ticket sales. 

Thank you for taking the time to read about all the committees that make Dhirana possible! This year, we needed to rearrange some committees after deciding to host a virtual show in the spring. As you can see, there are many integral parts that are required to organize Dhirana, and we are beyond grateful that you are playing an important part in Dhirana, as well.

Welcome to our second segment of “Meet the Board” for Dhirana 2021! We will be introducing our talented Design, Fundraising, and Mixer committees!

The Design Co-chairs this year are Akash Ramalingam and Devna Mathur. Akash is a junior majoring in Neuroscience and Devna is a sophomore majoring in Psychology. Akash and Devna use their technological skills to collaborate on numerous creative projects such as spirit-wear, videos that promote Dhirana, and the official Dhirana 2021 logo—check out the Engage Pitt video on this page and the update regarding the Sponsorship Gala to see some of Akash and Devna’s work! The Design Committee also includes two Assistant Chairs: Vishal Reddy and Varsha Kaveti.

The Fundraising Committee organizes events for students to participate in to raise money for Dhirana. The two chairs this year are Riya Patel–a senior Biology major–and Arpun Bains–a junior Biology major. In addition, Jothika Gorur and Anisha Mandava are the Assistant Chairs for the Fundraising Committee. Due to the virtual setting this year, Riya and Arpun are planning restaurant fundraisers and events through zoom. This semester, the Fundraising Committee hosted a successful Trivia Night and a Raas and ballet dance workshop! More events are coming soon!

Janani Raman and Yashica Kagithapu are the Mixer Co-chairs for Dhirana 2021. Janani is senior majoring in Neuroscience and Yashica is a sophomore majoring in Biology and Communications. The Assistant Chairs, Mahitha Vivek and Manasa Chillarige, work alongside Janani and Yashica to plan games for Mixer–a bonding event that occurs the day before the Dhirana competition. Janani and Yashica are organizing virtual games through zoom for the competing teams to engage in–a challenging, but exciting responsibility!

We will be introducing our final few committee chairs in our next “Meet the Board” update! We hope you are all enjoying getting to know our various committees that plan Dhirana.

This week we are starting our “Meet the Board” updates for Dhirana 2021!

First up, we have our Executive Board and Sponsorship Committee!

The E-Board consists of five hard-working students passionate for classical dance. The two Co-Directors this year are Mythri Sundar and Madhura Leninkannan. Mythri is a junior Urban Studies major and Madhura is a junior majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies. Twisha Padodara is our Business Manager–a senior Marketing major. Dhirana’s Secretary is Avani Mathur who is a junior majoring in Biological Sciences and Sociology. Last but not least, Vidhya Madireddy–a senior majoring in Neuroscience and Anthropology–is the Nrityamala Representative. This team delegates virtual general body meetings, oversees the committees, organizes event logistics, and handles the club’s finances. Mythri, Madhura, Twisha, Avani, and Vidhya are the leaders of Dhirana and are diligently working towards making Dhirana possible in a virtual setting!

Our Sponsorship Committee is responsible for reaching out to sponsors, applying to grants, and organizing this EngagePitt campaign! Maliha Tayeb and Meghana Akula are the Sponsorship Co-chairs this year–you may have recognized their names from sponsorship emails. Maliha is a sophomore majoring in Molecular Biology and Meghana is a senior majoring in Neuroscience and Spanish. The Sponsorship Committee also includes two Assistant Chairs–Stuthi Iyer and Vanshika Lohia–who work closely with the Sponsorship Chairs (and we are thankful for their help!).

Be on the lookout for our next “Meet the Board” update! Until then, stay safe and enjoy the rest of your week!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all from our Dhirana family! We are thinking of you during this holiday season, and we are truly grateful for your donations and continuous support. Without your help, we would not be able to host the Dhirana competition for our local community to spread awareness of classical dance and contribute to the Birmingham Free Clinic – you all make our mission possible! We assure you that our Dhirana team is continuously working to showcase an engaging virtual show in the spring. Thank you for your understanding as we plan for Dhirana 2021.

Although this year may not be in the ideal circumstances many of us hoped for, we wish you all a safe, enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Last week, we hosted our Fifth Annual Sponsorship Gala using a livestream platform for the very first time! We are beyond grateful for everyone who tuned into the livestream and appreciate everyone’s support as we adapt to a virtual setting. This year, seven talented dance schools from across Pittsburgh and the Midwest and Pitt’s classical dance team Nrityamala performed beautiful choreographies. Thank you to all the dancers and gurus for their hard work and dedication to classical dance!

After Gala, we raised 9% of our intended goal for the campaign–we are off to a great start! As always, we appreciate all your support, especially in times where we are all trying to be flexible with the unprecedented circumstances.

We hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather and is excited for the upcoming holiday season!