The Artist

teacher | dancer | choreographer | producer/sponsor

Sivagami Vanka is the founder and director of the Kalabharathi School of Dance in Portland. The school was started in 1983 in Cleveland, Ohio and then moved to Portland in 1987.

Teacher

Sivagami has been teaching children and adults for about 18 years, both in Portland and in other parts of the United States. Sivagami has established the reputation of being an exacting and dedicated teacher. Her love of this dance form is portrayed in her teaching and caring for her students. Her students often perform at leading events in the Portland-Vancouver area such as

India Festival at the Pioneer Square, the Rose Festival, A Taste of Beaverton, Good in the Hood – includes NAP artistes, the Caribbean Festival at PSU, A Multi-cultural evening at the Holt center, Eugene, Gujarati Samaj, GPTM, GPTM and several other local cultural events. Kalbharathi students have about 300 concerts to their credit over the last 15 years . Many have graduated and still continue to perform. Many travel from several US cities to come and learn dance from her. Many of them have returned to continue their learning and to perform with her in her productions. These well acclaimed performances speak of her skill in training and encouraging young performers to achieve new heights in this dance form.