Lavina Suthenthiran

Lavina began her journey into the world of Bharatanatyam at the age of six. Her initial training was with Vijayakumari Iynkaran under whose guidance she performed her Arangetram in March 2007. Following her Arangetram, Lavina came under the tutelage of Pushkala Gopal, hoping to expand her understanding of dance and music. She has also taken classes with Mavin Khoo and his senior student, Seeta Patel to work on performance techniques. She has completed the vocational ISTD exams (Advance 1 level) and is currently working towards her Advance 2 qualification. Lavina regularly teaches SANSKRITI:’ s Sunday lessons held at St.Barnabas Church in East Ham/Manor park and has also taught lessons at the Kerala Cultural Welfare Association in Croydon. She has performed at various places such as Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, London Palladium, and Oval Brit. In June 2010, Lavina performed a full length Margam (repertoire) at the Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan to raise money for the Eye Care Unit of Moolai Hospital in Northern Sri Lanka. Lavina has also conducted a dance workshop in Le Havre, France with Shiva Nova Dance company and has worked on various dance projects organised by Akademi.

On another note, Lavina is a budding journalist and graduated with a degree in journalism from City University. She has written articles published in the Evening Standard, Metro online, Confluence and the quarterly ISTD Magazine. She has a strong interest in working in broadcast news and has most recently worked for CNN International in London.