Vidya Mantrala

Vidya Mantrala began her training in Bharatnatyam in Gainesville, FL with Ms. Mathura Alladi at the age of seven. After a two year break, she resumed her training with Ms. Vijayalakshmi Shetty-Ahuja of Nataraj Dance Academy in Chicago, IL. In Missouri she has studied under Mrs. Asha Prem of Dances of India, St. Louis and is currently under the tutelage of Guru Prasanna Kasthuri of Soorya Dance Company. She has performed Bharatnatyam in several major venues including the Gainesville Earth Day Festival (1998), ICEC Talent Shows (1997-1999), Nataraj Dance Academy Annual Shows (2002, 2003), Columbia Fall Festival (2005), Jefferson City Fall Festival (2006), University of Missouri India Nite (2006) and on the steps of the Missouri State Capitol (2006) for a festival sponsored by the state government. With Soorya Dance Company she has participated in Rhythms in Motion (2005), Rainbow II-Columbia (2007), and Chaitra (2007). Vidya has performed Bharatnatyam and other traditional Indian dances for smaller community festivals and for her high school as well. Dance is one of the most important parts of her life and she hopes that she will be able to continue her studies in Bharatnatyam after her Arangetram.

In May 2008, Vidya graduated from Rock Bridge High School, Columbia, MO., with High Honors. She was a member of Model United Nations, Science Olympiad, National Spanish Honors Society, National Honors Society, and Tri-Theta, a service organization for senior girls. In the eighth grade she earned 1st Place in the Region and 9th Place in the nation for Level 1 National Spanish exam. She received the President’s Educational Award in 8th, 9th, and 12th Grades. She participated in orchestra since the 4th Grade and has been pursuing her studies in violin as well, performing in various district music festivals over the years. She was a member of the Rock Bridge High School Orchestra which received the highest “1” rating at the All-District Music Festival in Mexico, MO., in 2008. Vidya will be pursuing a bachelor of engineering degree at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul. She intends to study chemical engineering

According to Guru Prasanna Kasthuri, Vidya's  Arangetram is focused on her mother tongue, Telugu. This language driven approach helps children to understand their languages better and also it will expose them to their rich literature and traditions. Vidya will be performing a Varnam in Telugu and as a special performance, she will be performing folk tale of Andhra Pradesh - "Dokka Seethamma".