Support the Making of Ritu – The Seasons

Suchitra Sairam and Kala Vandanam are honored to be recipients of a 2015 Knight Arts Challenge grant from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. This $20,000 matching grant is the cornerstone of support for Kala Vandanam to create an original full length work “Ritu – The Seasons,” inspired by beautiful works of music and literature from around the world, including Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) from 18th century Italy and Kalidasa’s Ritu Samhara from 4th century India.

While young ballet dancers and theater actors have many opportunities to audition for and participate in professional productions, young Bharatanatyam dancers have few comparable opportunities. Ritu – The Seasons is intended to be exactly that – fill this gap for young Twin Cities area Bharatanatyam dancers to come together and create their own artistic magic in a professional production. In addition, these young dancers will learn about production, marketing and other skills valuable both for their artistic endeavors and for other interests.

The artistic team includes Suchitra Sairam (concept, choreography and artistic direction), Jyothishmathi Sheejith (music composition), and Dipankar Mukherjee and Meena Natarajan of Pangea World Theater (directorial and dramaturgical guidance). Our goal is to give these young dancers motivation to continue their artistic pursuits beyond a hobbyist level.

We are so grateful to the support of well-wishers who have contributed nearly $18,000, as of March 31, 2017 – thank you!

We successfully staged the premiere of Ritu – The Seasons on January 28, 2017, and are looking forward to performances at the Como Conservatory in June, at Mears Park in August, and back to a theater in the fall.

Please support this endeavor (and these young dancers) with a contribution, and help us stage this production in all four seasons, indoors and outdoors. It would be our privilege to have you accompany us on this wonderful journey ahead!

To give you an idea on how your contribution can help:

  • $25 – helps pay for studio rental for one rehearsal
  • $50 – helps pay for nutritious snacks for young dancers during hours of rehearsal
  • $100 – helps pay for marketing collateral (print and online, graphic and video) to help us introduce ourselves to new audiences
  • $250 – helps pay for stage settings and supplies
  • $500 – helps pay for free preview performances in the community
  • $1000 – helps pay for all of the beautiful costuming from India for 3 cast members
  • $1500 – helps pay for professional video and photo documentation
  • $2000 – helps pay for venue rental, theater staff and insurance to stage one show
  • $2500 – helps pay for the expert work from our world-class artistic collaborators

We are happy to acknowledge your contribution online and in-print in a way that suits your wishes.

Kala Vandanam Rasika Fund

Donations of any size are most appreciated and make a big difference! We are grateful to have the help of the Miami Foundation as a fiscal agent, to ensure your donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Consider donating by check instead of credit card – Though we know it is a little bit of a hassle to write checks these days, more of your donation will do toward supporting Kala Vandanam’s work, rather than paying credit card fees. Thank you for considering it.

Donate by check

Payable to : Miami Foundation
Memo: Kala Vandanam Rasika Fund

Mailing Address

Miami Foundation
Courthouse Center
40 NW 3rd Street, Suite 305
Miami, FL 33128
ATTN: Kamilah Wallen

Contributions to the Kala Vandanam Rasika Fund at the Miami Foundation are tax deductible as permissible by law.

OUR APPRECIATION to Friends of Kala Vandanam

Thank you to the following Friends of Kala Vandanam for your very generous support of our work. As of January 13, 2017 – please forgive any omissions

Anonymous (3)
Suganya Appugounder
Kamo Energy (San Antonio, TX)
Shamala Jeevarakshagan
T.J. and Ambika Natarajan
Mohan and Thangamani

Zehera Ali
Charanya Aswath
M. Bratakos and J. Coleman
Monica Cooley and Kala Nivedanam (Nashville, TN)
Margaret Cronin
Collette Crumb
Elizabeth Grogan
Gopal Haregoppa and Sunanda Gopal
Richard and Linda Howe
Jayashree
Monica Dooner Lindgren and Miguel Lindgren
Bhuvana Nandakumar and Suresh Krishna
Meenakshi Nanjundeswar
Jane Payfer
Kelly Payfer
Raj and Neelam
Gautam Ramakrishna
The Saint Paul Foundation matching gifts program
Anand Shanmugham
Daniel Singh
Betsy Stites
Amala and Bimal Thakkar
Kavi Thankavel
Jessica Walton

In memory of:
Darrin Sloan and Clyde Merrill
Guru Sri Mani of Kalasadan – “Dance is a medicine for body AND soul.”
Ramalingam Kedhar
Our loving mom, Jaya Sridhar – Nandini and Sagar Sridhar
Sundari Sundaresan and Lakshmi Krishnamoorthy – avid art appreciators

In honor of:
Suchi Sairam, from your longtime friends Kathy and John