Akhila Sandra Eschenbach

🪔 About

Akhila Sandra Eschenbach, known by her stage name Akhila, is a dedicated practitioner and teacher of Indian classical dance, specializing in Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam. Based in Munich, Germany, she performs and imparts training in these traditional art forms. Her journey into Indian classical dance began after being captivated by a Bharatanatyam performance in 2007, leading her to study at Natyadhara – Zentrum für indischen Tanz und Kultur in Munich. She received her traditional Bharatanatyam training under the guidance of Chandra Devi and Smt. Shyamala Surendran, the founder and head of Dharani School of Performing Arts in Cochin, Kerala. Eschenbach completed her Bharatanatyam Arangetram, a debut performance marking the culmination of years of rigorous training, in 2012 with live music at the Museum Fünf Kontinente in Munich. Her Mohiniyattam education was undertaken with Smt. Shyamala Surendran and Brigitta Hegedues at the Revathi Dance Indische Tanzakademie in Munich. She successfully made her Rangapravesam, the debut in Mohiniyattam, in 2018 at the Kulturhaus Milbertshofen in Munich, presenting a full repertoire with live music, which she also performed in India the same year. Akhila Sandra Eschenbach teaches both Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam to adults and children from the age of six. Her performance career includes solo presentations and collaborations with her own performance groups, as well as with the Natyadhara- and Revathi Dance Ensembles. She performs at various cultural, private, and corporate events, and Indian festivals. Prior to her immersion in Indian classical dance, Eschenbach had a diverse background in classical ballet, jazz ballet, Hip Hop, and practiced the Chinese martial art Taiji Quan for over ten years.