UIC students receives YoungArts Award for accomplishments in dance

UIC freshman Prarthana Prashanth has received a 2022 YoungArts Award in dance (Indian classical).

Prashanth was recognized at the Honorable Mention level, the organization’s second-highest honor. She is a disciple of Hema Rajagopalan and Krithika Rajagopalan of Natya Dance Theatre, where she has been training for over 12 years. Prashanth has been recognized for her caliber of achievement and joins 720 of the most accomplished young visual, literary and performing artists from throughout the county. Prashanth, an Honors College member majoring the biological sciences, is part of the GPPA Medicine program.

Selected through the organization’s prestigious competition, YoungArts award winners are chosen for their caliber of artistic achievement by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process. YoungArts award winners gain access to one of the most comprehensive programs for artists in the United States, in which they will have opportunities for financial, creative and professional development support throughout their entire careers. A complete list of the 2022 winners is available online at youngarts.org/winners.

“We are thrilled to announce this year’s YoungArts award winners — an extraordinary group of promising, accomplished young artists — and congratulate each of them on this exciting milestone in their artistic careers,” said Executive Director Jewel Malone. “YoungArts empowers artists to pursue a life in the arts beginning at the critical time when many are faced with decisions about life after high school. We are proud to support these young artists at the beginning of their journeys and look forward to becoming a resource for them at all stages of their careers.”

As a YoungArts award winner, Prashanth joins a distinguished group of accomplished artists such as Daniel Arsham, Terence Blanchard, Camille A. Brown, Timothée Chalamet, Viola Davis, Amanda Gorman, Judith Hill, Jennifer Koh, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Andrew Rannells, Desmond Richardson and Hunter Schafer.

YoungArts was established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to identify the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts and provide them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. Entrance into this prestigious organization starts with a highly competitive application process for talented artists ages 15-18 in the United States.

For more information, visit youngarts.org, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.