Purna Bajekal

Instructor and performer

Purna Bajekal began dancing at Slavin-Nadal School of Ballet at age 3 and started Bharata Natyam at age 6 with her mother, Guru Anuradha Naimpally, Artistic Director of Austin Dance India (ADI). Purna studied multi-forms of dance throughout her childhood at Tapestry Dance Company including tap, ballet, jazz, and modern. In 2009, Purna began teaching classes at ADI.

Purna has had the opportunity to tour and perform in the US, Canada, Mexico, and India. In 2011, Purna was a part of Parampara, which was awarded the coveted Best Dance Concert award by the Austin Critics' Circle and was named by the Austin Chronicle as one of the top five performances of 2011. In 2012, Purna completed her solo performance or arangetram, marking her debut as a professional. In 2013, her performance Two Generations, One Tradition with her mother was nominated for Best Duet Performance by the Austin Critics' Circle. In 2013, she also presented a full-length solo performance in Mumbai, India. In 2014, she was a part of the ADI Heritage Tour of twenty dancers, performing at seven historic temples throughout south India. For ADI’s 25th anniversary in 2016, Purna co-directed Girl Power!, a production at The Long Center promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Purna continues to teach, perform, and work with ADI on its various projects and productions.

After experiencing the transformative power of dance in her own life, Purna became interested in using movement as a therapeutic modality. In 2020, she graduated with her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Somatic Counseling Dance Movement Therapy from Naropa University and is currently working as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC-A) at Southwestern University’s Counseling and Health Center. Purna continues to utilize her therapeutic work and artistic projects as a way to advocate for social justice.

Soumya N. Ashok

Instructor and performer

Soumya N. Ashok began her musical training at a young age in Chennai, India under eminent musicians Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and Jayanthi Kumaresh.

Soumya moved to Austin in 2006 and has been training in Bharatanatyam at Austin Dance India under artistic director Anuradha Naimpally since then. She performed her solo Bharatanatyam debut in 2011 with Anu Naimpally’s mentorship. Soumya then had the opportunity to study both Bharatanatyam and nattuvangam (art of rhythmic accompaniment for dance) under senior Gurus Praveen Kumar and Kiran Subramaniam in Bangalore, India.

Soumya continues to train at an advanced level with her Gurus and has recently begun her journey as a teacher and choreographer. She became an official instructor with Austin Dance India in 2015, and teaches beginner and intermediate levels. She performs dance regularly in the Texas area both as a soloist and in group work and is a regular part of the musical orchestra - either as a singer or nattuvanar for Anu Naimpally’s solo productions. Soumya has been a part of many English and regional Indian language theater productions as well.

Soumya is a Director of User Interface Designer with Kintent and unwinds with travel, reading and gardening.