Sushma
Mohan
As A Dancer : Sushma had her initial training under
Guru Prasanna Kasthuri and later under Ranjani Ganesan, an alumni of Kalakshetra. She received her advanced training from Guru Dhananjayans at Bhaskara, a gurukula run by the renowned dancer couple in Kerala. To enhance her dance skills, she undertook training in martial arts of Manipur from Sri Khilton Nongmaiten, Kalaripayattu from Sri Anil Kumar, Kerala, Abhinaya from T K Mahalingam Pillai and Kathak from Maya Rao. She practiced music from the late Guru Sri Ambhi Bhagavatar, the tutor of the legendary Papa Choodamani.
As A Nattuvangist: Sushma learnt nattuvangam from
Guru Pulikeshi Kasthuri and went on to accompany popular dancers like Vani Ganapathy, Ranjani Ganesan, Prasanna Kasthuri and all the performances of Shanthala Arts Academy on nattuvangam.
As A choreographer: Sushma's talents as a choreographer have come to the foreground with her choreographic works like "Apoorva Sadashiva" a dance presentation of the compositions of Mysore Sadashivaraya, who lived in the 19th century in the court of Krishnadevaraja Wodeyar in Mysore. Her other presentations are Dashavataara, Navagraha, Yathiraaja Vaibhava, Mira and Gajendra Moksha. Sushma choreographed several ballets for the ISKCON temple Bangalore, IISc (Indian Institute of Science) Bangalore and was invited by the TTD (Tirupathi) to perform for their Brahmotsavam celebrations 2002.
As A Teacher: Sushma has trained students for more than 6 years at Shanthala Arts Academy Bangalore. Her students have received scholarships by the state and central govt. and have won prizes in various state level competitions. Three of her students have performed arangetram (formal dance debut) which have been acclaimed both by the press and public. All of her students who have attended the dance exam conducted by the Karnataka Secondary Education board have attained distinctions and ranks.
Dance festivals: She along with her Gurus and students has participated in dance festivals like the EFCEP 98, Kanagal Festival, Golden Celebrations of Keshava Nruthya Shala Bangalore, Karnataka Sangeetha Nruthya academy festival (Kaivaara), Ankura 96, Mysore Dasara celebrations, EFCEP, Shanthala festival, etc.
Awards and prizes : Sushma won a prize for her home state when she represented Karnataka in the 4th National Yuva festival held at Chennai.
As a writer: Sushma writes several articles as a freelance journalist for the Chennai based dance and music based website www.kutcherbuzz.com and for magazines like "Bangalore trends".