Guru Sujatha Manjigani

Sujatha Manjigani, trained under Guru Smt. Choodamani Rao, before finding her home with Guru Smt. Padmini Ravi. She performed in several programs, in Bangalore, Mysore and Vijayawada including many times at Ganapathi Sacchidananda Swamy-ji’s ashram as a young student. Sujatha participated in “Satyam-Shivam”, a flag-ship production of her Guru Padmini Ravi, that toured around in Karnataka.  

Sujatha established Shakti Dance Academy in 2010, teaching the Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam, with a purpose to instill a love of this art form to children and adults alike, with a specific focus on holistic learning. She brings additional breadth and depth to her curriculum through regular workshops from senior artists in India, continuing the rich heritage of her grand-guru - Guru K.J. Sarasa’s approach, to wholesome learning and community partnerships. 

Over the many years, Sujatha and her students have performed at the Nuvyug(Charlotte and Raleigh), TACGA, CTA, Hindu Center, and Festival of India celebrations. Her students have also participated in the Asian (Dragon Boat) Festival, Peace Day celebrations, Charlotte Shout festival, and the Charlotte Vision Awards, incorporating this art form into the community events in and around Charlotte.

Most recently, Sujatha has tutored her students to embark on the SAMPADA Bharatanatyam Certification program offered by Silicon Andhra in collaboration with Potti Sriramulu University of Andhra Pradesh. 

Sujatha believes that she is a learner for life and continues to train under her Guru to this day.

Aside from her dance life, Sujatha has a day job at a financial services company in Charlotte.