SOORYA FOUNDATION FOR PERFORMING ARTS

MISSION

Soorya Foundation for performing arts was founded

-To preserve, protect and promote Indian Traditional Performing Arts through dance and music festivals, performances, dance productions, lecture demonstrations and master classes.

-To produce Indian dance productions inspired by ancient Indian women legends, and present it with a contemporary treatment.

-To augment our role as heritage representatives and cultural

torchbearers of an ancient performing arts tradition.

-To coordinate cultural, artistic,

- To enhance our community life through cultural healing and heritage connections

- To integrate the foundation activities with the life of the larger Indian community

-To create performing opportunities for young dancers at our Youth Fest

-To provide scholarships to economically disadvantaged students to study Indian dance

GURU SUSHMA MOHAN Founder- Artistic Director, Executive Director

City and county of residence – CUMMING, Forsyth County GA

· As a performer, choreographer, teacher, and musician, she has created more than 10 full length dance productions, with more than 2000 performances to her credit.

· Curated the North GA Indian Dance festival NGIDF since 2020 through Soorya Foundation, featuring more than 250 artists and honored 6 senior dance gurus for lifetime achievement at the NGIDF.

· Chosen to perform at the prestigious FITS Folklife in the South conference in Gainesville AL presented by South Arts

· Awarded grants by Forsyth County Arts Alliance to curate NGIDF

· Invited to collaborate with Forsyth County School district to curate NGIDF 2025

· Collaborated with Flamenco artist JulieMoon on “LASYA Y DUENDE” A FLAMENCO–BHARATANATYAM COLLABORATION

· Sushma has been instrumental in securing grants for the foundation from National endowment for the arts, California arts council, Georgia Council for the arts, SOUTH Arts, Los Angeles and Forsyth Counties for Soorya Foundation

· Panelist for Georgia Council for the Arts, Los Angeles County department of Arts and culture, California Arts Council

· Invited by the state of NJ twice to perform for the NJ State Cultural festival.

· Adjunct lecturer at Rutgers University, NJ

· Commissioned artists for COSMOS -Language of the universe, a project by NASA and the city of LA Dept of Cultural affairs

· Chief Curator of LA Indian Dance Festival in Los Angeles and North Georgia Indian Dance fest in GA

· Granted an award by the city of LA- DCA (Dept of cultural affairs) for her dance production APAH – story of two rivers.

· Dancer-Choreographer award by City of Los Angeles Dept of Cultural affairs for Dance in the District project.

· Invited to perform at DOGWOOD Festival, Brookhaven city festival, Brand Library and art center -Glendale, LOTUS fest, Walking in our light TAXCO theater, San Pedro Dance festival, Thousand Oaks Arts Fest, Dance in the district Screening and Celebration, Lankershim Arts Center, Music Center spotlight program Los Angeles, etc.

· Selected as a performer by LA libraries for LAMADE, a dance and music series featuring LA artists.

· Students trained under Guru Sushma have been featured at Folklife in the South conference AL, awarded DITD project by LA-DCA and as semifinalist at the prestigious SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM at LA MUSIC CENTER

NGIDF 2026 SCHEDULE

3 pm - Soorya Foundation MOVIE

3:05 -Inauguration

State Representative Todd Jones Georgia House of Representatives, District 25
Commissioner Todd Levent, Forsyth County Commissioner, District 3 Rupal Vaishanav - Forsyth County Board of Tax Assessors
Special invitees Anu Bhat and Subra Bhat

3:15 - Soorya Foundation Music ensemble

3:25 - Soorya foundation dance ensemble

3:45 - Nritya Sankalpa Ensemble- Savitha Viswanathan

4:10 - Sristi Dance Company

4:30 - Sandhya Udupa

4:55 - Flamenco and Bharathanatyam

5:15 - Manodharma - NAVARASA Rama

5:50 Award ceremony

The theme of NORTH GEORGIA INDIAN DANCE FESTIVAL 2026 is “250 Years of Freedom: A Bharatanatyam Tribute” Indian classical heritage in dialogue with the American story—immigration, identity, democracy, resilience, and cultural fusion.

The goal of the festival is to connect Indian classical dance with the American ideals of liberty, justice, and expression.

ARTISTS - NGIDF 2026

SOORYA FOUNDATION ENSEMBLE led by award winning Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer and musician GURU SUSHMA MOHAN will present BHA-RA-THA-Natyam - a traditional south Indian Dance performance. This recital will give the audience an insight into the 2500-year-old temple dance of South India. We present Bharathanatyam (South Indian traditional dance) technique in a refreshing approach. Our presentations maintain the purity of the art form while at the same time expanding its horizon, to create an interest among the uninitiated audiences. Effective story telling & contemporary approach to traditional art have made our shows very popular. Our dance productions are unique in terms of presentation and content and admired by the press and public. Our bright colorful costumes, melodious music and a refreshing contemporary approach to traditional dance form appeals to audiences of all ages.

www.sooryafoundation.org

NRITYA SANKALPA DANCE ACADEMY follows the Kalakshetra Foundation and Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale curriculum. Founded by Guru Smt. Savitha Viswanathan, a graduate of Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai. Ever since her arangetram in the year 1981, Savitha has performed at various prestigious forums in India like the ICCR, Sahitya Kala Parishad, Mylapore Fine Arts Society, UK, USA, Singapore, Nepal, and Thailand. A skilled teacher, Savitha has over 25 years of teaching experience, 22 of them in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a graded artist of Doordarshan, India and was a panel member at the Fulton County Arts Council in Georgia. She has been imparting training in Bharatanatyam, summer camps for folk dances, workshops, seminars, and training programs based on the syllabus followed at Kalakshetra. Students of Nritya Sankalpa have won many prestigious awards.

https://www.nrityasankalpa.com/

MANODHARMA a spontaneous dance presentation by ATLANTA DANCE GURUS – Dance gurus of Atlanta and North GA will come together to present a spontaneous dance presentation. Gurus Soujanya Madhusudhan, Savita Viswanathan, Gayatri Seshadri, Suhasini Muthukrishna, Harini Santhanam and Sudakshina Mukherjee, each of whom is an accomplished dance teacher and performer with more than 2 decades of teaching and performing experience, will present a spontaneous presentation based on the compositions depicting Lord Rama. The group will be accompanied by Atlanta’s renowned singer Sripriya and will be conceptualized, curated and narrated by Sushma Mohan

SANDHYA UDUPA INDIA– Sandhya Udupa is a luminous force in Indian classical dance, celebrated for her mastery across Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Yakshagana, and Carnatic music. A performer of rare depth and clarity, she weaves tradition and contemporary sensibility into a language that feels both timeless and urgently present. As co-founder of the Udupa Foundation, she champions cultural education, artistic access, and community-centered programming, nurturing the next generation with the same rigor and grace that define her own practice. Her performances are marked by precision, emotional intelligence, and a quiet radiance—inviting audiences into a world where movement becomes philosophy, and storytelling becomes a shared act of devotion.

PERFORMANCES: Bharathanatyam performer and curator Sandhya Udupa is USA, South Africa, France, Poland, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda and Mauritius

AWARDS: Awarded with ‘Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for the year 2022. She has been awarded with ‘Best Performer’ at the ‘Bharat Nritya Utsav 2023’

https://sandhyaudupa.com/about/

“LASYA Y DUENDE” A FLAMENCO–BHARATANATYAM COLLABORATION

Blending the Sanskrit lasya (grace) with the Flamenco spirit of duende, NGIDF 2026 presents a Flamenco–Bharatanatyam collaboration with a powerful, elemental energy: fire meeting earth, rhythm meeting geometry, duende meeting bhava. A fusion feels both ancient and electric.

PRESENTED BY SOORYA ENSEMBLE DANCERS AND JULIA MOON

Julie Galle Baggenstoss, “Julie Moon”, is a Flamenco dancer working as a performer, teaching artist, and instructor of Flamenco arts. Fostering awareness about Flamenco – its origin and evolution, its many and varied interpretations, and the art form’s place in American culture – is part of the work taking place in Julie’s projects. With influences from both the East and the West, Flamenco holds many truths and lessons for people across the U.S.A. who find their own personal expressions in this art form. https://www.flamencoclasses.com/

SOORYA MUSIC SCHOOL Young music students of Soorya Foundation will present an inaugural song seeking the blessings of the divine to begin their performance. Students have received training in Indian music at the Soorya music school

SRISHTI DANCE COMPANY refers primarily to the performance wing of ATL Adavu, a dedicated Bharatanatyam group focused on fostering, collaborating, and performing classical Indian dance. The company features experienced artists and focuses on blending tradition with fresh, collaborative creativity. Performers engage in spring and summer training, resulting in live and virtual productions. Srishti Dance Company, serves as a performance-based cohort for serious practitioners in the Atlanta area.

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NGIDF 2026 SCHEDULE

ARTISTS - NGIDF 2026

LOCATIONS

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Call or email to book an appointment: 818-7300371 or sooryafoundationla@gmail.com