DEEPA PREETI
NATARAJAN

Deepa had been assisting Aggie in teaching the dance classes for a decade before moving to Portland, Oregon in 2020.  A graduate of Boston University, Deepa grew up in Ohio in a Tamilian family where she was trained in many dance forms throughout her education including ballet, modern, West African and many more, all but Bharatanatyam. She began studying Bharatanatyam with Aggie in Oakland, and has also studied with Smt. Shyamala in Chennai, India where her family is from.  In 2011 Deepa performed her Arangetram, the graduation performance of a solo dancer with a group of live musicians. Deepa enjoys teaching and has spearheaded a program for our youngest dancers that highlights the rich stories told in Bharatanatyam. Deepa loves plants and natural dyes and worked for the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley organizing educational programs before moving to Portland, Oregon, where she is the Admissions Director of the Arbor School. She is also actively involved with the Sangati Center for South Asian Music, an organization founded by her Carnatic vocalist husband Gautam Tejas Ganeshan.