A talent waiting in the wings

As her name denotes, NSL Praveena is adept at whatever she does. This multifaceted young lady who was catapulted to theatrical shows as a Kuchipudi dancer is now on the threshold of making it to tinsel world. Praveena, an associate professor in business administration who also runs an institute Colors of Dance, has worked for Bahubali-2 as an assistant to the renowned dance master Prem Rakshith.

Much to her reputation, Praveena who made an appearance at the State Level Youth Parliament in Warangal donning the role of Speaker of the House a couple of days ago, had the audience captivated with her oratory skills.

The Hyderabad-born Praveena who started learning dance at the age of three-and-a-half-years, still retains her passion for Kuchipudi even today. She has the distinction of winning Gold Medal in MA (Kuchipudi) which she completed from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, in 2010. Her multidisciplinary academics also included MBA (Marketing) and she has been working as an Associate Professor in Rishi UBR PG College for Women in Hyderabad.

Her first ever performance in Doordarshan was at the age of just four years. Extending her passion for classical dances, she established Colors of Dance institute in Kukatpally which as of now has 150-odd disciples. A disciple of Kuchipudi exponent Dr Vedantam Ramalinga Sastry, the Sangeeth Natak Akademi awardee, she had so far given around 2,000 performances across the country and abroad including US, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait etc.

Adding more to her repertoire, she earned expertise in conceptualising and choreographing Kuchipudi dance ballets for various shows and events. Praveena’s composition of Perini and folk dances which was performed by the overseas students in the Centenary celebration of the Osmania University (OU) in 2017 brought all round accolades for her. Training the students those who hail from Gulf, Uzbekistan and other countries was not that easy because of the distinct cultural void between India and the nations.

With the experience in composing dance sequences for many television and stage shows, Praveena had also made her Tollywood debut with SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus Bahubali-2, The Conclusion, as an assistant to choreographer Prem Rakshith. She also worked for Jr NTR’s Kanthri. This apart, she has the experience of working with the prominent Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan. Although classical dance was her forte, she mastered all the genres.

The biggest challenge Praveena encountered as a choreographer was presenting the item girl Mumaith Khan dancing to a classical number. It happened in a Zee TV’s show Jagadam. She also worked for Tamanna, Anushka, Shreya and others.

Speaking to The Hans India, on the side lines of Youth Parliament on the Kakatiya University campus, Praveena said: “It’s a privilege to be here as the Speaker where power of youth is on display in the role of Parliamentarians. This is the finest moment in my life as I became part of an effort that is aimed at nation’s building.”

Further Praveena expressed her ambition to make it big in the filmy duniya predicting that it could propel her to a new level in her chosen field.