Reva Nallani will perform her arangetram - her Indian classical dance debut - on Saturday, July 13, at 5:30 p.m. at Bishop McDevitt High School, 1 Crusader Way, Harrisburg. For over a year, Reva, a member of the dance group Three Aksha, has been working with teacher Viji Rao to prepare for her arangetram.
Reva was born deaf and had two surgeries to obtain one cochlear implant in each ear. Her family notes that she will be the first Indian youth with cochlear implants in the United States to perform her arangetram.
As a young child, Reva was diagnosed with auditory neuropathy. Following her surgeries, she participated in intense auditory verbal therapy. Throughout elementary school, she participated in an individualized education program (IEP) to improve her listening and conversational skills. Despite her hearing disability, Reva's mother enrolled her in classes teaching Bharatanatyam, a popular style of Indian classical dance.
She has performed at the Painted Bride Art Center, the Philadelphia Museum of Arts, the Kleinfeld Center, the Please Touch Museum, the Wawa Festival, Rowan University, the Delaware Temple, and the Hershey International Fair, as well as in Bahrain and India.
Reva is a sophomore at Hershey High School.
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