Mohana Narayan

🪔 About

Mohana Narayan is a dedicated Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, and the founder of SarvaGuna, a dance academy based in the Bay Area, California. She received her foundational training from a very young age under the guidance of her mother, Guru Smt. Usha Narayan, a renowned dancer and AIR A grade artiste from New Delhi. Her mother imparted the Pandanallur style, having herself trained with stalwarts such as Smt. Swarna Saraswathi, Smt. Yamini Krishnamoorthy, Guru Nana Kasar, Guru Kittappa Pillai, and Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan. Mohana Narayan further expanded her classical dance education by training with other instructors and Gurus in the Tanjavur, Kalakshetra, and Vazhuvoor styles, including Dr. Padmaja Suresh (a disciple of Rajarajeshwari Kalyanasundaram), Shanmugha Sundaram (a disciple of Sarasalaya K.J. Sarasa), Shri. Balagurunathan (Kalakshetra), and Smt. Rama Vaidyanathan. She continues to pursue learning opportunities from senior Gurus. Prior to establishing SarvaGuna in 2008, Mohana Narayan earned a Master's degree from Stanford University and worked in product management in the IT sector. She has assisted in training young students for over 20 years. As the artistic director and instructor of SarvaGuna, she focuses on one-on-one attention, promoting individual strengths, and has overseen over 20 student arangetrams since the academy's inception. Mohana Narayan has performed extensively with her mother across India and internationally from a young age. She is also a prolific choreographer, having presented numerous thematic productions such as Sri Rama Jayam, Krishnaarpanam, Nritya Triveni, Tiruppavai Kainkaryam, AshtaLakshmi Sukriti, Tiruppavai Thoranam, Nruttya Nikshepa Atma Nikshepa, Sri Ramanuja Vaibhavam, Andaal Anubhavam, and Navavidha Sambandham, involving hundreds of students.