Smt. Dhanya Vani Rao is the founder and Director of ASD.
Dhanya, more known as Vani, earned her Diploma in Bharatanatyam under Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee PadmaShri Guru.Smt. Indira P P Bora, in Guwahati, Assam. She performed her Arangetram at the age of 13, where she was hailed by the media as Child Prodigy. After completing high school, Dhanya moved to Baroda, Gujarat, where she pursued Bachelors and Master’s Degree in Performing Arts,(BPA, MPA) specializing in Bharatanatyam at the prestigious M. S University. She is the recipient of the Anjali Mehr Gold Medal for the year 2000 for topping her batch in BPA.
Vani has performed in India, USA and Scandinavia. She was a delegate at the 13th International Conference of ASSITEJ (Association of Theaters for Youth and Children) in Tromso, Norway where she held a lecture demonstration and workshop on Bharatanatyam. She has also performed in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has received acclaim for the same. Vani is also the recipient of the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development Scholarship in the field of Art and Culture. She is a vivid choreographer and has composed and choreographed various Bharatanatyam and folk compositions for children. Dhanya has appeared several times on television in India. She is an auditioned artist at Doordarshan Kendra, Guwahati and Bangalore, India, and has performed for Doordarshan Ahmedabad and Program Production Center, Northeast. She has also been interviewed by All India Radio, Guwahati. In 2014, Vani was felicitated by miindia.com and DTA for her contribution in the field of Art to the Michigan Indian Community. In 2016, Vani was awarded the prestigious Michigan Excellence award by the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit. This award is present to first generation immigrants who have made a difference in their ethnic community. In May of 2020, Dhanya joined with her Alma mater, MS University to attempt creating a World Record for having the highest number of dancers perform the same dance around the world at the same time. It was a successful event and Dhanya is happy to support and be able to give back to her University in any way that she can! In 2023 , 2024 and 2025 Abhinaya school was honored to perform at the prestigious Cleveland Thyagaraja festival.
Abhinaya School (ASD) is devoted to impart training exclusively in Bharatanatyam. ASD is an accredited center affiliated to Alagappa Performing Arts Academy,a sister concern of Alagappa University, Chennai, India. Students are offered courses from Certificate Course to Diploma through constructive training and exams.
