Vedantam Venkata Rama Raghava

🪔 About

Vedantam Venkata Rama Raghavayya, widely known as Vedantam Raghava, is a distinguished Kuchipudi exponent who hails from the hereditary 'Vedantam' family of Kuchipudi village in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India. He is the elder son of Vedantam Rattaiah Sarma and Rajyalakshmi. Raghava commenced his dance training at a very young age, initially under Chinta Ramamurthy at Annamayya Kalaapeetam, a school founded by Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma. His extensive tutelage continued under his father, Vedantam Rattaiah Sarma, and other esteemed gurus including Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, Pasumarthy Rattaiah Sarma, Chinta Ramanatham, Pasumarthi Venugopala Krishna Sarma, Vempati Pedda Satyam, Vempati Chinna Satyam, and Pasumarthy Ramalinga Sastry, following a traditional gurukula system. He further solidified his theoretical knowledge by earning Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Dance (Kuchipudi) from Sri Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad. With a strong background in Yakshagana, Vedantam Raghava is proficient in portraying both male and female characters, including female impersonation. He is also skilled in stagecraft, designing and creating stage properties for his productions. Raghava began choreographing and teaching at the young age of 15. After relocating to the United States in the mid-1990s, he recommenced teaching in 2002. In Houston, Texas, he established Vedantam Kalakshetram, an institution dedicated to training the next generation of artists. He also curates Natya Sabha, an organization that periodically conducts and organizes programs.