Mesma Belsar is a Bharat?natyam dancer, painter and actor based in Boston, MA. Her professional dancing career over two decades includes solo performances at the Lincoln Center (NYC), Asia Society (NYC), Alvin Ailey Theater (NYC), The Lincoln Theater (Washington D.C.), Siri Fort (New Delhi) and the Harbourfront Centre (Toronto). She is a recipient of the Cambridge Arts Council's 'Artist-Grant'
Kiran Rajagopalan is one of the leading young exponents of Bharatanatyam (South Indian classical dance). He had his early training under Smt. Asha Prem and Sri. Prasanna Kasthuri in St. Louis, Missouri, and Smt. Sujatha Srinivasan in Cleveland, Ohio.
He is currently a senior disciple of Sri A. Lakshman in Chennai. He is also undergoing further training in abhinaya (expressive dance) with Smt. Bragha Bessell and in Carnatic violin with Kum. A. Kanyakumari & Smt. Anusha Sreeram. He recently began training and performing Bhagavata Mela under the guidance of Kalaimamani Sri S. Natarajan.
He has given many acclaimed solo performances in India, Indonesia, and the United States. In 2011, he became a graded artiste of Doordarshan Chennai and was invited to Indonesia for a series of workshops and programs. He is currently working with Bangalore-based photographer, Ramnath Siva, on a photography project for In My Backyard I Can See the World, a multimedia art exhibit headed by Artists Respond Globally in Chicago.
Kiran graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a B.A. in Behavioral Neuroscience and Spanish in 2008. However, he has chosen to follow his passion for dance and has graduated from the University of Madras with an M.A. in Bharathanatyam. He is the recipient of a fiscal sponsorship from the prestigious New York Foundation for the Arts to choreograph and present a solo performance art production.
