Jothika UMA Gorur

Jothika Gorur, hailing from Pittsburgh PA is a young and accomplished Bharatanatyam artist. With over 15 years of training, she completed her Arangetram under the guidance of her Guru, Smt. Shobhitha Ravi in 2017 and has won prizes at several US-based cultural events including 1st place at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival, Hindu Dharma Arts and the Raga-Rhythm Dance Competition. Outside of competing, she has performed in various programs within the United States and India.Jothika graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in Sociology and Certificate in Global Health Studies. She was greatly involved in the Indian classical dance circuit; serving as captain and later on advisor for Nrityamala, Pittsburgh's award-winning collegiate classical dance team. As a leader of the team, she co-founded NRITYAPRIYA, a virtual benefit showcase that raised $2,760 for charity. Additionally, she served as an executive board member for Dhirana, Pittsburgh's annual intercollegiate classical dance competition during its 10th anniversary and had the honor of judging the competition the following year in 2023.While Jothika finds immense joy in performing, her passion extends to choreography and education in the arts. Her teaching journey began in 2017 as an Assistant Dance Instructor for Natyakriya, her Guru's dance academy. Subsequently, her expertise earned her an invitation to serve as a guest choreographer for "Vilaya: The Confluence," a distinguished Indian classical dance festival hosted by Nandanik Dance Troupe. Jothika achieved her lifelong dream by creating Uma Performing Arts, her very own classical dance company. This endeavor has led her to serve as a workshop instructor for Desi Dance Convention and AATMA Performing Arts, among others. She had the privilege of co-producing NRITHYANJALI (hosted by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre) and AVIKATHITA (hosted by Silambam Houston). Jothika is deeply thankful for the continued support of her Guru, family, friends, and looks forward to sharing her newest projects in the future!

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:
Classical Dance Instructor for Lua Dance Club (Oct. 2023-Present)
Workshop Instructor for Attack Theatre (Jan. 2024)
Workshop Instructor for AATMA Performing Arts (Jan. 2024)
Choreographer for Dhirana Gala (Nov. 2023)
Workshop Instructor for Dance Conservatory Pittsburgh (Oct. 2023)
Workshop Instructor for Desi Dance Convention, Philadelphia PA (July 2023)
Teaching Artist for Attack Theatre B.O.O.S.T. Program (July 2023)
1st place at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Senior Varnam Category (Apr. 2023)
2nd place at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Senior Keerthanam Category (Apr. 2023)
SPIFPA Judge for Dhirana 2023 (Apr. 2023)
Guest Choreographer for Vilaya: The Confluence (Apr. 2023)
Finalist at New Jersey Natya Sangamam Natyanjali Senior Category (Mar. 2023)
(Kuchipudi) SPIFPA Award Recipient (Sept. 2022)
Executive Board for Dhirana Collegiate Dance Competition (Apr. 2021-Apr. 2022)
Executive Board for Nrityamala Collegiate Dance Team (Apr. 2019-Apr. 2022)
1st place at Raga-Rhythm Senior Category (Dec. 2020)
1st place at Hindu Dharma Arts Competition (Nov. 2020)
Top 12 at Origins National Collegiate Championship (Apr. 2020)
SPIFPA Award Recipient (Oct. 2019)
1st place at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Varnam Category (Apr. 2019)
Special Mention at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Keerthanam Category (Apr. 2019)
1st place and Viewer’s Choice at Tu Bhi Nachle Collegiate Competition (Mar. 2019)
2nd place at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Keerthanam Category (Apr. 2018)
Finalist at New Jersey Natya Sangamam Natyanjali Senior Category (Feb. 2018)NOTABLE SOLO PERFORMANCES:
Solo Program at Seva Sadan Auditorium, Bangalore (Dec. 2023)
Annamacharya Aradhana: S.V. Temple, Pittsburgh PA (Aug. 2023)
PearlWatch/Charrette, KST Alloy Studios, Pittsburgh PA (Mar. 2023)
Joyland Film Screening, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA (Mar. 2023)
NACHMO at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (Feb. 2023)
Margazhi in San Francisco (Jan. 2023)
PIT Performing Arts Series (Oct. 2022)
[Kuchipudi] The Vasu Gutti Performing Arts Stage Dedication Ceremony (Sept. 2022)
VAH Ekta Gala: Meenakshi Temple, Pearland TX (Sept. 2022)
Private Event in Cleveland, OH (Aug. 2022)
Virtual Arts for Humanity (Jan. 2021)
Nritya Fest (Dec. 2020)
Raga-Tala (Dec. 2020)
The Tandavam: Navaratri Devi Series (Oct. 2020)
Quarandhimi Darbar Virtual Utsav (Aug. 2020)
Annamacharya Aradhana: S.V. Temple, Pittsburgh PA (Sept. 2019)
Three Rivers International Mela (Jul. 2018)NOTABLE GROUP PERFORMANCES:
AVIKATHITHA, Yuva Festival hosted by Silambam Houston (Sept. 2023)
NRITHYANJALI, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Open Air Series, Pittsburgh PA (Jun. 2023)
Vilaya: The Confluence, Pittsburgh PA (Apr. 2023)
One World Festival: Lancaster PA (Sept. 2022)
Trimātā (Apr. 2022)
Maha Kumbhabhishekam Program: S.V. Temple, Pittsburgh PA (Jun. 2021)
NRITYAPRIYA (April 2022, May 2021)
India Day, Cathedral of Learning (Aug. 2019, 2018, 2016, 2013, 2012)
SPIFPA Program (Oct. 2019)
Sri Vidya Shakti (Oct. 2018)
Sri Thyagaraja Aradhana: S.V. Temple, Pittsburgh PA (May 2017)
Sanskrit Dinam, S.V. Temple (Nov. 2017)
Sanskrit Dinam, Hindu Jain Temple (Nov. 2015)
Bayer Festival (Jul. 2015, Aug. 2013)

JOTHIKA HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND WORKSHOPS AND LEARN CHOREOGRAPHY BY RENOWNED ARTISTS INCLUDING:
"Kalaimamani" Shri Madurai R. Muralidharan
"Padma Bhushan" Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan
Smt. Aswathy Nair & N. Srikanth
Smt. Manasvini RamachandranNOTABLE TESTEMONIALS:
“Jothika’s dances were stunning, with her fluid movements and beautifully expressive face clearly portraying the character’s feelings and intent, while her body easily shifted through complicated rhythms and balances.”
-Anita Samuel, India Herald (Houston, TX)“@jothikagorur brings so much expression to her performance. It was a treat to see stories expressed in movement.”
-@pit-airport-art, PIT Performance Arts Program"Jothika really embodies a goddess in her performance. Her precision is out of this world. She uses her face, an often forgotten prop in dancing, in an astonishing beautiful and surprising way."
-Audience Member, PearlWatch/Charrette"In my wildest dreams I never thought I'd get to see a dance inspired by KAIKEYI--but the incredibly talented @jothikagorur made it happen. As a former dancer myself, it was a mind blowing experience. In her interpretation, Rama returns to Ayodhya at the end of the story and touches Kaikeyi's feet, which had me sobbing. What a privilege!!"
-Vaishnavi Patel (@vaishnawrites), Author of KAIKEYIReview of AVIKATHITA:
https://narthaki.com/info/rev23/rev2995a.html
-Vinita Radhakrishnan, Narthaki