TEACHING STAFF
Veena Vinod
Veena’s love for dance, particularly Bharatanatyam, began at a young age during visits to temples and cultural events in Kerala with her family. Despite moving to Canada, that intrigue and passion remained as a constant in her life. She began her Bharatanatyam journey in 2008 with Ishwarya Chaitanya. She later continued her training with Mandala Arts and Culture Society and the Jai Govinda Dance Academy. In 2019, she completed her arangetram alongside her sister under the guidance of Jai Govinda. Throughout the years, Veena has performed for various community events and lecture demos across the city including, Mahalakshmi Temple’s Holi Show, the Tamil Cultural Association’s Pongal, the Tagore Society’s 9th Annual Tagore Festival, and most recently York House School’s Multicultural Week. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Veena got the opportunity to broaden herdance experience as a member of UBC Junoon, UBC’s only competitive Bollywood fusion dance team. Through this platform, she was trained in Bhangra, Jhumar, contemporary, and hip hop, and had the opportunity to compete across the United States, including in Virginia and South Carolina as part of the Desi Dance Network's Legends competitions.
Outside of dance, Veena is equally passionate about animals and currently works as a Registered Veterinary Technician in the ER department. She is excited to share her love for dance with others and to continue learning and growing through teaching.
Malavika Santhosh (Sub)
Malavika Santhosh is a bharata natyam dance graduate from the Jai Govinda Dance Academy in Vancouver. She received her initial training in various dance forms including Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, and Kerala Natanam under RLV Anil Kumar in Dubai, UAE. Upon moving to Vancouver, she joined Mandala Arts and Culture to continue her bharata natyam training and completed her arangetram (graduation) in 2009 under the guidance of Guru Jai Govinda. Malavika continues to advance her training at the same academy, along with abhinaya training workshops under Smt. Bragha Bessell.
As a bharata natyam soloist, Malavika has performed at several events around Vancouver, including: Burnaby Festival of Dance, Vancouver DiwaliFest, International Dance Day Celebrations, Vancouver Film School Impact Awards, Young Peoples Concert, Vancouver Youth Awards, Gait to the Spirit Festival, among others. She had the opportunity to perform for PM Narendra Modi's visit to Vancouver and was also invited to Toronto to perform at the Beyond Boundaries Dance Symposium as a New Generation Dancer in Canada. In recent years, Malavika has expanded beyond solo work into professional productions such as being a company dancer for Nova Bhattacharaya’s Svāhā premiere in Toronto (September 2022) and Vancouver (July 2023), performing in Sujit Vaidya’s Breath in the Fragrance for the Queer Arts Festival (June 2023), and recently in Anusha Fernando's Sky Dancers (September 2024). As a keen artist, Malavika continues to explore the intricacies of Indian classical dance through her performances while balancing a career in the tech industry.
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