About Me

My name is Lekha Reddy, and I am currently a junior at New Albany High School.  For as long as I can remember, the arts in any form have fascinated me, and I have been immersed in them for most of my life! I began singing western vocal with my teacher, Pamela Roberts at the age of four years old, and since then, I have explored and am learning about many different sides of the arts, such as drawing, painting, and theater.  Deep down, although I enjoyed all of these things, I felt like something was missing, and I yearned for a way to be closer to my culture, and to further understand its complexity and beauty. Through this, I began learning Carnatic music (Indian Classical Music) at the age of eleven years old, and a couple of years later, I began dancing.

The dance that I perform is an Indian Classical dance called Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam is one of the most popular and widely practiced classical dance styles of India, with sculptural evidence dating back nearly 3000 years. A highly spiritual and dedicatory dance form, Bharatanatyam‘s roots go back to the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu, in South India. The flexibility of the framework lends itself well to both traditional themes as well as modern day subjects, and trains dancers in intense footwork and abhinaya (expression).

Last year, I completed my Arangetram, which is a solo dance debut of the most ancient form of Indian classical dance, where a dancer gets to showcase the skills they’ve gained, their ability to perform for upwards of an hour and a half with live musicians, multiple costume changes, and eight different dances.