WASHINGTON DC (TIP): Indian American Shreyah Mohanselvan of Gahanna, Ohio, has been nominated in the Dance discipline amongst the nine artistic disciplines, chosen by YoungArts, the sole nominating agency for 2018 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
Shreyah Mohanselvan, who has lived in New Albany her entire life, is a senior at Columbus Academy, where she has been a student since kindergarten. She has been involved with student government since middle school, was president of her class both her sophomore and junior years, and is focused on communication, spirit and community, and efficiency and organization in 2017 as student council president.
In addition to student government, Mohanselvan plays the violin in the Columbus Academy Advanced Orchestra, serves as a student orientation leader for new students transitioning into the school and is an editor of the yearbook, a group she has been a part of since her freshman year.
All of this adds up to Mohanselvan being an exceptional high school student – one that her school community at Columbus Academy and her home community of New Albany can be immensely proud of. But Mohanselvan is actually best known for something else.
Her dancing.
“Dance has always been my passion,” she says. “I started learning ballet when I was 4 years old at the New Albany Ballet Company. Shortly thereafter, I started learning the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam.”
Bharatanatyam and Odissi, a second form of classical Indian dancing that Mohanselvan performs, are, as she explains, ancient art forms that were originally performed in temples. The dance depicts Hindu stories and are dedicated to gods and goddesses.
“The two dance forms have differences and similarities, and sometimes it is difficult to force the body to be true to both of these two conflicting dance forms,” she says.
Mohanselvan isn’t simply a dancer, though; she’s an award-winning dancer. She has won first place in the Federation of Indian Associations of Central Ohio’s Indian solo dance competition for three consecutive years. Additionally, Mohanselvan has three first place and two second place finishes since 2013 in the Vindhya Cultural Association in Columbus, a competition that attracts talent from all across the state. In 2017, she was presented with a National Young Arts Winner Honorable Mention Award in Indian/classical dance.
Mohanselvan’s talent for dance has taken her to perform at venues all across the state, including many times at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, a place she says, “always feels like home.”
And now she is nominated as 2018 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts
About 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts and the YoungArts
2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts is one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic and artistic excellence. YoungArts is the sole nominating agency for this high honor and the 60 candidates, representing 25 states and nine artistic disciplines, are all YoungArts winners. These students have been nominated to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program for their artistic achievements.
The candidate applications will be reviewed by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, which will ultimately select 20 high school seniors to be recognized as U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts for their academic and artistic accomplishments, demonstrated leadership, community service and outreach initiatives, and overall creativity. In June, the 20 arts scholars will join the other 141 U.S. Presidential Scholars from across the country in Washington, D.C. for the National Recognition Program. During the program, all scholars receive a Presidential Medallion presented on behalf of the President of the United States and participate in several recognition activities while in Washington, D.C.
“The National YoungArts Foundation is proud to partner with the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program to acknowledge our nation’s most talented graduating high school seniors,” said Carolina García Jayaram, YoungArts President and CEO. “These young leaders excel in everything that they do, from their artistry and inquisitiveness, to their academics and activism. YoungArts congratulates each of the nominees on their accomplishments, and we look forward to announcing the selected arts scholars this spring.”