Sunnyvale teen Shruti Sridhar is a passionate dancer who recently put her fancy footwork toward a good cause.
Shruti, 14, raised $2,200 for the educational charity Sunday Friends showcasing her spirited traditional dancing. The student at Notre Dame High School in San Jose staged a recital over the summer at Santa Clara University. During the 90-minute recital, called “Nirtya Seva”, Shruti performed seven dances for an audience of about 75 people.
The recital was especially nerve-wracking for Shruti as she had just recovered from a heel injury two weeks prior.
Shruti has been a Bharatanatyam dancer since she was about 4 years old. Bharatanatyam is a type of classical Indian dance originating in Hindu temples that tells a story through movement.
“One dance I did that was an audience favorite and mine is about this woman who is waiting for her husband to come back. He has gone away to do some mission and he’s not coming back, and it’s a cliffhanger ending,” she says.
Shruti is looking to hold more recitals for charity. She began volunteering for Sunday Friends a year ago as a computer and geography teacher for children served by the program. The organization offers daylong programs at two San Jose campuses on Sundays for children from low-income families to engage in hands-on learning and activities.
Shruti found out about the organization while searching the Internet and quickly became involved. Money raised from her performance went toward buying supplies for Sunday Friends’ Treasure Chest store, which allows children to redeem tickets earned during classes for school items.
“We helped to promote the event because she and her family have been very active in our program,” says Janis Baron, Sunday Friends founder. “Here and there people do fundraising, but never someone this young, being this successful and putting on an event that is so high quality. We had our mouths hanging open the whole time.”
Shruti says her parents were the driving force behind her taking up Bharatanatyam dance. She says it was a way to give her a connection to her Indian heritage.
“It’s my passion because you can put your own creativity into it. Even if the teacher teaches choreography, you can make it your own and enact stories and add that dramatic aspect to your performances. It allows me to express myself more in normal life, and that’s something that really appeals to me,” says Sridhar.
For more information about Sunday Friends, visit sundayfriends.org.
