Michigan's Vaidehi Dongre - Winner of the singing competition "Swarangan 2011"

Vaidehi Dongre(15) of Troy was recently declared winner in the children’s category of the much acclaimed singing competition Swarangan 2011. Swarangan is a singing competition organized by the popular internet radio station www.eprasaran.com. The final round of the singing competition was held at Chicago, live at the Bruhan Maharashtra Mandal (BMM)’s Annual Convention, July 2011 that attracted thousands of patrons from all over United States. Vaidehi was also the lead dancer in during the opening and closing ceremony of the BMM Convention.

Vaidehi, a sophomore at the International Academy is a multi-talented young lady. She hails from a family of second generation Hindustani classical music singers. Her father has been her early year’s teacher. Currently, Vaidehi is learning music from Guru Shuchta Athlekar , from Mumbai.

Pursuing her interest in singing, Vaidehi actively performs at the Aradhana (classical singing event) at the Bharatiya Hindu Temple in Troy.

Singing is not just one talent Vaidehi possesses. This vibrant and enthusiastic young lady is also a classically trained Kathak dancer. Daughter of the famous Manisha Dongre of the Taal Academy, Vaidehi has been learning the nuances of Kathak since the tender age of 4 years. Over the years she has performed in many dance performances around US and Canada winning recognition and awards wherever she performed. She has been a consistent winner of local Michigan classical dance competitions

Vaidehi has been a part of many well acclaimed dance dramas, one of the most popular being the “Meera” that has toured Toronto, Toledo and Chicago. A confident and fluent Marathi speaker Vaidehi has shown her acting skills in Marathi drama “Sparsh” directed by Dr. Suresh Gadgil. She also traveled to Philadelphia to present this drama to the mesmerized audience there. Vaidehi is actively choreographing dances in IASA (Indian American Student Association) at her school. She has experimented with fusion dances combining kathak with tap dances and more.

From singing and dancing, to beauty pagents and instrumental music( violin), she is well on her path to a successful future. We wish her all the best!