Shaon Ghosh 

- A dedicated Bharathanatyam Student

Shaon has been a dedicated student of Indian Classical Dance for the last ten years. Her training in Bharatnatyam began under the tutelage of Mrs. Asha Prem of Dances of India. For the past five years, Shaon has been trained by Guru Prasanna Kasthuri of the Soorya Dance Company. Her devotion to dance led her to perform in many cities across the United States, from San Antonio to Chicago to Columbus. In St. Louis, she has performed in many venues, both solo and also as part of a group. 

Shaon graduated from Parkway West High School this year. She was an honors student throughout her high school career, earning the highest accolades, including being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist. She is very active in the Bengali community, taking part in almost all of its cultural programs. She has excelled in the Science Fairs many times. She won the "Best High School Chemistry Project" awarded by the American Chemical Society two years in a row. This year, she won a gold medal and a $1,500 scholarship from Monsanto in the Honors Division of the Greater St. Louis Science Fair last year. She participated in the STARS program after her junior year. She worked on the St. Louis University Health Science Campus, with Dr. Tom Chambers, researching the genome of Junin Virus. 

Besides dance, her interests also include music, travel and film-making. She has won many top prizes in film festivals for her documentary production and has represented Missouri in Washington D.C. in the National History Day competition. She has recently discovered a passion for SCUBA diving. She continues to volunteer her time in hospitals and food pantries and for cultural festivals throughout St. Louis. 

Orchestra
Nattuvangam: Guru Prasanna Kasthuri
Vocal: Pustakam Rama
Mrudangam: Janardhana Rao
Flute: RaviChandran Kollur
Violin: Manjula Rao
Special Vocal Support: Prof. Himadri Pakrashi
Special Vocal Support: Mithali 
Special Vocal Support: Rima Di

Credits
Lighting: Ashok Mallya
Students of Soorya Dance Company
Special recognition: Prabir Das

Date & Time
Saturday July 22nd 2004
5:30 - Reception
6:15 - Performance

Chief  Guests
Hema Rajagopalan, Artistic Director, Natya Dance Theater, Chicago
Prof William Hammond, Music Department, UMSL
Ustad Imrath Khan, Professor of Indian Music, Washington University, St.Louis

Venue
St.Louis University High School
(Next to St.Louis Science Center on Interstate 64)