Andhra Pradesh - Nizamabad   

Australian resident takes to Kuchipudi with aplomb

Staff Reporter

Freya Jeffrey was invited by the Premier of the State of New South Wales to perform at Parliament House

GRACE PERSONIFIED: Ten-year-old Freya Jeffrey performing Kuchipudi.

NIZAMABAD: Freya Jeffrey's interest in dance began at the age of five in Sydney, Australia.

Her uncle, an Indian, originally from Maharashtra, took her to a local Bharatanatyam teacher, after which her tryst with Indian dance began.

Freya's real passion for the traditional dance form of Kuchipudi sprouted in 2003, when she met and studied under dance master Sandeep Bodhankar of Hyderabad.

Sandeep, a 25-year-old dance master already attained incredible heights as a proponent of Kuchipudi dance.

He was groomed by noted Kuchipudi gurus Padma Shri Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma and Vedantam Radhesham.

Inspiring guidance

Under Sandeep's inspiring guidance Freya's love for Kuchipudi grew rapidly.

She gave her first performance of Kuchipudi at Ganapatipule, Maharashtra, in December 2003 in the presence of Sri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

Over 40,000 local and international guests witnessed her performance.

Her love for dance made her return to India in December 2004 for further training.

In March 2005, she performed at an international seminar on Sahaja Yoga Meditation in Pune with traditional items such as "tarangam" being among her favourites.

In the following year, she was invited by the Premier of the State of New South Wales, Australia, to perform at Parliament House.

Freya, now at the age of 10, has again returned for a three-month study period and is going deeper into the art form.

Her teacher recently facilitated classes for her from his legendary gurus at Kuchipudi village itself. Recently, she performed at the international theatre festival in Cuttack, organised by the Utkal Yuva Sanskrutik Sangh. She is looking forward to enhancing her knowledge and experience under the tutelage of her gurus to imbibe fully the rich Indian dance culture.

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Australian resident takes to Kuchipudi with aplomb

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