First prize for Kanya Manoj at prestigious Bharatanatyam competition
Kanya Manoj, a 16-year-old high school junior at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, won the coveted first prize at The Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana's Bharatanatyam competition. It's the largest Indian classical music festival in North America. The week long festival is an annual event that features performances by some of the best musicians and dancers from India, a series of lectures, workshops, demonstrations, and competitions. She was one of the 25 finalists in more than 400 applicants selected to perform on the final day of Aradhana. Kanya, a student of Ms. Savitha Vishwanathan's Nritya Sankalpa dance school, performed a traditional varnam piece. She was one of the youngest participants in the competition, restricted to the 16-21 years age group. Apart from the many cash and non-cash gifts bestowed upon her by the program sponsors, she's been invited to give a 1� hour solo dance performance at a leading sabha in Chennai, India, during the December 2007 music and dance season. She's being featured in Sruthi magazine's May issue and her dance performance will be telecast on Jaya TV along with her and her guru's interview. She credits her success to her teacher's meticulous training.
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