Kalapadma, Chicago teaches students the 
Bharatnatyam style of Indian classes dancing 
under the tutelage of Smt. Ruth Parijata Varghese.
  Considered by connoisseurs and critics as one of 
the most promising and versatile dancers in the 
country, Ruth had her training under her father, 
Shri. Shankar Hombal, a renowned dance guru and 
director of Kalapadma, Bhopal.  She also had 
intensive training at Kalakshetra, Chennai 
(Madras).Ruth is the recipient of three gold medals 
and is also honored with the title “Singar-mani”.  
She has performed extensively in India and abroad.  
Along with holding Masters degrees in fine arts 
(Painting) and performing arts (Bharatanatyam), she 
is also proficient in the Odissi Style of Classical 
Dancing.  Ruth is the artistic Director of 
Kalapadma Dance Academy in Chicago.	
     Kalapadma provides training mainly in 
Bharatanatyam, adhering to the Kalakshetra style 
and has to date trained about 5,000 students.  Many 
of them have won laurels in various competitions 
including state and national awards.
     Some of the Indian folk dances are also taught 
to students as part of their courses of study.  
They include a few tribal as well as dances of 
Madhya Pradesh which was introduced in the 
curriculum after much research.  Students are also 
taught dance compositions in other regional 
languages of India like Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, 
Malayalam, and Hindi.  The Mudras are taught 
through Sanskrit shlokas.  Please call for further 
information.