Meet Our Team

Surya Akella

Choreographer

Surya Samasritha (Sami) Akella began her Kuchipudi journey at the age of six under the guidance of Guru Smt. Nirmala Roj in Philadelphia. After moving to Atlanta, she continued her training with Guru Smt. Sasikala Penumarthi. Over the past fourteen years, Surya has performed at numerous cultural programs and festivals at the Temple. She played notable roles in dance ballets, including Valli in Kalyanam Karthikeyam, Seetha in Sri Rama Pattabhishekam, Parvathi in Siva Leela Vilasam, HiranyAkshudu in Chenchitha Parinayam, and most recently, Vijaya Lakshmi in Ashtalakshmi Vaibhavam. In addition to her classical dance training, Surya often explores other artforms and attends workshops for Bollywood, Contemporary, and fusion dace styles. Surya also learns Carnatic music from late Smt. Vardhani Murthy in Huntsville and Smt. Neeta Chandrasekhar in Hyderabad. She has taught alongside her dance Guru for the past 7 years, spreading her love for both dance and music.