This children's cultural & Educational delegation is led by Smt.Sumathi Sriram ( The senior most disciple of the Dhananjayans, Bharatakalanjali alumni /teacher )  Smt. Divya Sivasundar ( Senior disciple of The Dhananjayans and teacher, Bharatakalanjali) 
1.  YATIN AGARWAL(Guru Anita Guha) 
2. GAUTAM GOPALAKRISHNAN(Guru: Hariharan) 
3. SACHIN DAMIANOSE (Kalari- Guru:Shaji) 
4. HARIGANESH MURALIDHARAN( Guru:Shobana Balchander) 
5. DASARATHI VARATHARAJAN(Guru: Sivakumar) 
6. KRUPAA LAKSHMI  VISWESWARA(Guru: Shobana Balchander) 
7. AARABHI BADRI (Raguru:Radhika Shurjit) 
8. KRITHIKA SHURAJIT(Guru: Shobana) 
9. RESHMA MALLIKNATH (Bharatakalanjali) 
10. SWAPNA SRIDHARAN    (Bharatakalanjali) 
11.PRIYANKA GANESH (Bharatakalanjali) 
12. MADHAVI CHANDRAN (Guru. Girija Chandran & Dhananjayans) 

Sumathi Sriram & Divya Siva (Guru: The Dhananjayans) will be performing, giving lecture/demonstrations and performing  with these young performers. They will be visiting and interacting with school children of the Tri-State of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. USA. 

Items of performances will include: folk and classical Bharatanaatyam repertoire. Two special short stories have been specially choreographed to show moral values in life. 

Punyakoti (Animal stories-cow & linoness) Mohini Bhasmaasura.(Mythology), Folk dances like Bhangada, Santhali, Raasa and Kurathikummy, representing north to south and east to west of India.  

The Bharata Kalanjali dancers will present three public performances (including one in collaboration with Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk), as well as fourteen performances and sixteen workshops scheduled for grade schools in the tri-state area.  An estimated 7,000 youngsters will participate in these interactive programs. 

It is evident that students around the world live in a global society of diverse cultures and customs, but studies show that exposure to these cultures is often limited to 30-second news clips on the evening news.  In a complex world where understanding cultural issues � not only abroad, but also at home � is now a necessity and hardly a luxury, Creative Connections' mission becomes profoundly relevant.  The time is long past when children could remain culturally isolated.  They are growing up in a world in which their lives are shaped by the conflicts and aspirations of people whose countries they rarely know.  Indeed, the social fabric of our communities already reflects the mores of people with unique backgrounds, customs, and values.  As recently voiced by the Council for Global Education, "Children must learn to view national, linguistic and cultural diversity as an asset."  

Yet educational programs teaching children about cultural differences remain woefully inadequate.  Travel to other continents is simply not affordable for most youngsters, and gaining cultural insights about people around the world through textbooks lacks a sense of immediacy leaving much to be desired.  

To address this critical need, Creative Connections requests SPAN MAGAZINE to feature its International Youth Performance Tour featuring the Bharata Kalanjali, a group of talented 12 to 18-year old Indian Bharatanatyam dancers from Chennai, India who will visit the CT-NY-NJ tri-state area from October 26th through November 11th 2007.