Tuesday night saw the concluding part of the 2014 Yuva Ratna Award competition performances with six dancers competing for the title of Yuva Nritya Ratna  – Young Dancer of the Year.

Striking performances in Kathak, Oddisi, Bharatanatyam and Bharatanrityam, it was Bharatanatyam dancer, Uma Venkataraman who took the title, award money and trophy. Taking the runner up position was Kathak dancer, Ragini Madan.

YuvaNritya Ratna Award Winner 2014:

• Uma Venkataraman  Bharatanatyam
  Uma is a student of Srimati Pushkala Gopal in London, UK. Her initial enthusiasm for Bharatanatyam has developed over the years into a passion that continues to take her on a deeply spiritual journey.  She has had the opportunity to learn with world class gurus like Professor Chandrasekhar, the Dhananjayans, Srimati Leela Samson and Srimati Priyadarsini Govind at Milapfest summer workshops in the UK. Uma is currently studying Medicine at Imperial College, London. Despite her academic endeavors, Bharatanatyam remains an essential and central part of Uma’s life.

Yuva Nritya Ratna Award Runner Up:

• Ragini Madan   Kathak
  Ragini Madan has trained in Kathak under Padmashri Shovana Narayan for over 12 years. She has been part of most of her guru’s dance productions and has accompanied her to various festivals in India and USA, since the age of 13-14 years. While in the UK for the past 7 years, she has performed in solo, duet and group compositions in various cities. For the past few months, she has been training with Mukti Shri, a disciple of Shrimati Shama Bhate.