Shalini’s journey into classical dance started at the age of 10 as an after-school activity. Her interest and dedication matured under the tutelage of her first guru, Srimati Radhika Kalyani, director of Sanchala School of Dance in Chennai, India. Srimati Radhika is a former student of Srimati K.J. Sarasa and Srimati Chitra Visveswaran.
Shalini debuted her solo stage performance with a live orchestra, known as Arangetram, on March 11, 2006 at the prestigious Madras Music Academy. It was her privilege to have Srimati K.J. Sarasa and Srimati Srikala Bharath as her chief guests.
Shalini returned to learning and performing the art after a brief hiatus under Srimati Shobhana Balchandra, one of the Senior most disciple of the Dhananjayans, the popular dancing couple of India. Sri Vannadil Pudiyaveettil Dhananjayan and his wife, Srimati Shanta Dhananjayan, received the prestigious Padma Bhushan from the Government of India for their accomplishments in Bharatanatyam.
Shalini now continues to learn and hone her skills with Bharata Kalanjali, a temple of learning run by the Dhanajayans in Chennai, India. She is pursuing an online diploma in Layam and Nattuvangam tutored by Dr. Guru Bharadwaaj, a leading percussionist and Carnatic singer in India.
Shalini regularly performs in dance productions for cultural events and trains young students. Apart from her pursuits in classical dance, Shalini has also obtained a certificate from Cambridge International Diploma in Teaching and Learning. This helped her to learn how to develop lesson plans to encourage students who were pursuing classical dance and music along with their mainstream studies.
Shivani started her journey into classical dance at the age of six. Her initial training was under her mother, Shalini Shyam Narayan, and her skills were further enhanced under the direct tutelage of Smt. Shobana Bhalchandra. She also received training from Sri Uttiya Barua, under the banner of Bharata Kalanjali. Shivani recently completed my debut solo performance, Arangetram at Madras Music Academy on August 25th 2024.
Alongside her dance training, Shivani has also been learning Carnatic music under Dr. S.R. Jayasitalakshmi and Smt. Dr. Subhashini Parthasarathy. She ventured into Western music, completing the first five levels of Trinity College London's keyboard curriculum.