Instructors

Bharatanatyam

Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy

Director

Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy, a distinguished Bharatanatyam artist with over 20 years of experience, trained under Acharya Dr. S. Divyasena at Divyanjali, Chennai, from the age of six. She was awarded the Scholarship for Young Artists in Bharatanatyam by India’s Ministry of Culture (2010–2012) and is a graded Doordarshan artiste. Swarna has performed on prestigious stages such as the Devdasi Festival (Orissa), Kalavaibhavam by Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society, and Kala Utsavam at Esplanade.
Her solo recitals span prominent sabhas in Chennai and stages in Thailand and Malaysia. Swarna began teaching at Divyanjali in 2009, later teaching in Singapore (2013–2018). She now directs Swarna Kala Mandir (SKM) and has choreographed productions like Dhaara – The Divine Rainfall (2019) , Tri-Vima (Esplanade, 2023) and Shanmatham – Six Paths to Divinity (2023). Swarna is also training in Kathak under Guru Mulla Afsar Khan and holds a Master’s in Science & Technology Communication from Anna University. Since 2023, she is the Principal Tutor for the NUS Indian Dance at National University of Singapore and has been the Artistic Director for 2 productions by the team

Ashwariya Ganeshan

Assistant Bharatanatyam Instructor

Ashwariya Ganeshan began the study of Bharatanatyam at the age of 7. After training under various teachers, she is right now learning under Acharya Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy at Swarna Kala Mandir. In 2018 she completed her arangetram under the guidance of Smt Swarna Varsha at Kalpavriksha Fine Arts. She has performed in various community centers and temples in Singapore for religious and corporate events. She has also taken part in various competitions such as Papanasam Sivan Competition and won several awards. She has also learnt Carnatic vocal under many teachers in Singapore. She also got the opportunity to perform in Malaysia, Johor Bharu in 2019 and performed for Indian Raga in 2021 for the Rama Navami celebrations. Ashwariya was also a part of SKM’s production “Dhaara- the divine rainfall” in the year 2019. Ashwariya actively involves herself in designing the publicity materials for all our events apart from creating beautiful artworks.

SM Rethika

Assistant Bharatanatyam Instructor

Rethika began her Bharatanatyam journey at the tender age of 6. After learning under various gurus, Rethika is currently under the tutelage of Acharya Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy for the past 8 years. She has performed in various stages for Navartri, Annual days, competitions and many more. Some notable events include, Rethika winning the 1st prize in 2015, 3rd prize in 2016, and 2nd prize in 2018 in the Papanasam Sivan Competition which was organized by Sivan Fine Arts Academy(Chennai), and Global Indian Cultural Centre. She had also participated in the Singapore Youth Festival(SYF) for the Indian dance category where the team clinched the certificate of distinction in the year 2019. She also participated in SYF in the years 2015 and 2017 for the Contemporary category. She was also assigned as the Dance-in-charge in her University and Junior college in the year 2019 and 2021 respectively. She has also led and choreographed several dance music videos hosted by Nanyang Technological University’s Tamil Literacy Society. Rethika successfully completed her Bharatanatyam arangetram in July 2022. Recently she was part of “Krishnarpanam” staged at the Esplanade outdoor theatre during Kalaa Utsavam 2022.

T Rishika Sherene

Assistant Bharatanatyam Instructor

T Rishika Sherene, a student of Swarna Kala Mandir, has been learning Bharatnatyam from the age of 8 under the guidance of Acharya Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy. She has performed in numerous events and temples for Navaratri festivals. Rishika also has taken part in online performance amidst pandemic and assisted in video productions. She also has taken part in Dance competitions in Singapore. Rishika has participated in various community and corporate events. She also had the privilege of performing in R K Swamy Hall, Chennai for Margazhi Natya Vizha in 2018. Recently she was a member of the thematic presentation “Krishnarpanam” representing Swarna Kala Mandir, staged at the Esplanade outdoor theatre during Kalaa Utsavam 2022. As a dynamic teacher, she creatively engages students in dance class and prepares them for exams, competitions and performances. As a student of media, she also assists in the institution’s video productions

Suvatha Jayabal

Assistant Bharatanatyam Instructor

Suvatha Jayabal a student of Acharya Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy, has been learning Bharatanatyam since the age of 15. She is also training in Carnatic music under Smt. Sundari Sathappan. She has been performing regularly at Navaratri festivals in various temples around Singapore and community events. She has also taken part in different competitions and won top prizes namely, Bharatham, Let’s Dance and Kaviyum Naatiyamum. She also had the honour of performing in front of the President of Singapore, Halimah Yacob apart from which she has performed at the Indian Arts Festival Singapore and UTSAV parade. Moreover, she has attended various workshops by legendary dancers namely the Navarasa Sadhana course under ​Sri. Venu G​, a well-known Kuttiyatam artiste, Abhinaya workshop by Smt. Priyadharsini Govind & Sri. Sadanam Balakrishnan . Moreover, she has also performed in R K Swamy Hall, Chennai for Margazhi Natya Vizha in 2018 and Melpathur Auditorium, Guruvayur in 2019. She was also a part of SKM’s production “Dhaara- the divine rainfall” in the year 2019. She successfully performed her arangetram on the 10th of September last year at the Alliance francasie theatre. Suvatha recently was involved in “Krishnarpanam” a thematic presentation for Kalaa Utsavam 2022 at the Esplanade Outdoor theatre. Suvatha is a dynamic teacher who aims for perfection among the students in their learning process. She has also been instrumental in managing all the events effectively at Swarna Kala Mandir.

Shayanthaviy

Assistant Bharatanatyam Instructor

Shayanthaviy began her journey in Bharatanatyam at the age of 6 under the guidance of Smt. Vasugy Jegatheeswaran at Natya Kala Mandir in Sri Lanka. She performed from a young age in various prestigious productions of Natya Kala Mandir and events including Meenakshi Kalyanam (2014), Dasavatharam (2018), and Natya Velvi hosted by Kamban Kazhgam in 2015 and 2018. She has also been featured in cultural programs on Shakthi TV and Derana TV, performing for Deepavali and Thai Pongal celebrations, as well as in collaborative performances with Kandyan dancers. Alongside performing, she has been actively involved in choreography for school events and won the regional-level Bharatanatyam competition at the Tamil Day celebrations for secondary schools in 2015. She completed up to 4th Grade in the Bharatanatyam examination conducted by the North Ceylon Oriental Music Society, passing with First Division. Her artistic background extends beyond dance — she has trained in Carnatic vocal music for six years and studied the veenai for seven years. After moving to Singapore for higher studies, she joined Swarna Kala Mandir and continues her training under Smt. Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy. She recently began assisting in teaching at SKM.

Suvetha Sivakumar

Assistant Bharatanatyam Instructor

Suvetha Sivakumar a student of Swarna Kala Mandir, has been learning Bharatnatyam from the age of 9 under the guidance of Smt. Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy. She has performed in numerous events and temples for Navaratri festivals. Suvetha also has taken part in online performance amidst the self-isolation period as well. She also has taken part in Dance competitions namely Bharatham, Kaviyum Naatiyamum and Arts Hub Singapore. Suvetha has a participated in UTSAV parade and in the Passion Arts’ Indian arts festival back in 2017. She was also a performer in SKM’s maiden production Dhaara- The Divine Rainfall in 2019. Furthermore, she has also performed in R K Swamy Hall, Chennai for Margazhi Natya Vizha in 2018. in 2022, Suvetha was part of “Krishnarpanam” by Swarna Kala Mandir at the Esplanade Outdoor stage for Kalaa Utsavam. Suvetha is a committed teacher who adopts different techniques while engaging with the younger ones learning in our school.

Dhanya Desigan

Assistant Bharatanatyam Instructor

Dhanya began her Bharatanatyam journey at the age of five, training under the esteemed Natya Acharya Mani Guru V. Balakrishnan at Bharathaanjali for nearly fifteen years. She is now training under Acharya Swarna Varsha Gurumoorthy at Swarna Kala Mandir (SKM), under whose tutelage she completed her Arangetram in 2025. Over the years, Dhanya has performed in numerous temple and stage programs, particularly in Singapore. A key milestone in her journey was performing at the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple during the Natesha Arpanam for the Arudra festival in 2018. She has also participated in the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Her deep interest in Bharatanatyam led her to explore Carnatic music, in which she trained for several years. Dhanya has recently joined SKM and is currently undergoing teacher training to further her passion for both dance and teaching.

Kathak

Nahida Aktar Sarna

Kathak Instructor

Nahida Aktar Sarna has been learning Kathak under care of Guru Mulla Afsar Khan for 7 years. She is a recipient of the Best Student Award in 2020, from Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS). At Temple of Fine Arts, Singapore she learnt Bharatanatyam for 2 Years under Guru Sujatha Rajagopalan.

Teaching Journey:

She has been teaching Kathak since 2018 at Centre for Arts (CFA), A Fine Arts School run by Singapore Bangladesh Society. She is also the Dance Instructor at two schools run by the Bangla Language and Literary Society, BLLS. Nahida prepares her students from BLLS and CFA for their annual performances apart from choreographing for events at Community clubs and other religious events.

Performances:

She has been performing at various stages in Bangladesh and Singapore mainly:
Maitri Diwas – 2021, Celebrating Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh India Relation.
50 Years of Independence – Narayangoneg, Bangladesh.
Rabindra Nazrul Jayanti 2018, 2019 – NTU, Singapore
National Day Celebration – 2018, BDHC, Singapore.
Independence Day Celebration – 2019, BDHC, Singapore.
Language day 2019 – BLLS, Singapore.

Swathi Madhavan

Visiting Faculty- Kathak

Swathi has trained in Bharatanatyam from Acharya Dr. S Divyasena for over 12 years. She has been learning Kathak from Guru Mulla Afsar Khan for over 8 years. A mother of one and working in a Corporate, Teaching is something of passion and close to heart for Swathi.

  • Education: Completed Diploma in Kathak from Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) in 2022.
    Awards: Natya Visharad (2022). Also trained in basics of percussion (Tabla) by Guru Mihir Kundu and Shri Prashanth G Krishnan
  • Teaching Journey: Educating children and adults since 2017 including Teaching/Choreography Assistance at SIFAS, Swarna Kala Mandir including choreography for annual days, festivals, school programs.
  • Performances:
    • Mahabalipuram Dance Festival, Jaya TV’s Taka Dhimi Tha and group performances with Divyanjali’s troupe.
    • Singapore: Vasantham TV Singapore, People Association Indian Arts Festival, Indian Heritage Show, Navaratri Festivals, Community Club Festivals
    • Productions: Chaturang (Kalavaibhavam 2018), Umeed – Colours of Hope, Sankalp Online Dance Festival by Kathak Exponent Smt. Vidha Lal, Prakriti-Vikriti, a SIFAS Production at Esplanade Theatres on the Bay (2021), Patang (production at Kala Utsavam).