This fund is a donor directed fund for curated dance performances

Arpana Foundation, a 501©3 nonprofit organization came into being in October of1989 with the blessings of my guru, Padma Bhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan. Our goal was to offer the students of dance in Southern California a more holistic education with exposure to performance by senior dancers, a taste of the culturally charged environments from the homeland, and most importantly, enrich the cultural landscape in our new home. After having presented over 100 diverse artistes - local and international and representing all forms of Indian dance - our vision and mission expanded.

In 2004, it morphed into the Ektaa Center, a physical space with the objective to move teachers and instructors of Indian arts including dance, yoga, music, and meditation to a public space making them and their skills accessible to all. Our offerings also grew with festivals and symposiums like Raga Spirit and Dance Conversations, which were presented in collaboration with UCLA, UCI, Loyola Marymount University. As I complete 41 years of teaching and sharing Indian dance in SoCal/US, I want to reboot the ‘dance division’ of Ektaa and bring diverse dance programming to SoCal again by organizing festivals and symposiums in cooperation with local organizations/universities and expanding our audiences. On this very special occasion, I am excited to launch the Arpana Alumni Dance Fund - $40000 for 40 years under the banner of the Ektaa Center. Appreciate your support in bringing the richness of our heritage to an ever-growing and diverse community.

- Ramya Harishankar - Artistic Director, Arpana Dance Company

Note: Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law.