Hema Karunakaram is an award winning dancer, speaker, and community builder based in Chicago. Hema began her training in bharatanatyam under Smt Roopa Shyamasundara in 2002, and presented her arangetram in 2015. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she spent four years producing and performing in music and dance programs as a part of Michigan Sahana. Hema has also trained in ballet, kuchipudi, hip hop, and Indian folk styles and was a company dancer with Navatman Dance, a bharatanatyam ensemble in New York City, from 2016-2017. She has been recognized by the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and has presented original choreography at dance festivals in Metro Detroit and Boston.

Hema is passionate about health equity, racial justice, and improving South Asian allyship with BIPOC communities. She currently works at CVS Health in chronic disease management and serves on the board of directors of the South Asian Public Health Association.

See Hema perform at the Artist Showcase on Sunday, June 26th at Indian Boundary Park Cultural Center along with a range of Chicago’s Indian dance artists.

REGISTER