Aarthi Mahalingam started learning Bharatanatyam at the age of 6, from Smt. Madhavi Chandrasekar in Tiruchirappalli. She went on to do her Arangetram at the age of 15. At 18, she started with her second guru, Dr. Srividhya Sundaresan and performed her Nattuvangam Arangetram at the age of 21. Under the guidance of both teachers, Aarthi has performed solo and as part of a group at different venues in South India. Aarthi is currently mentored by Padma Shri Dr. Narthaki Nataraj and learns music from Sangeetha Seva Ratna Dr. C.M. Venkatachalam. She lives in San Diego, California, USA with her family and enjoys teaching Bharatanatyam to people who are interested in learning the art form & appreciate the rich cultural heritage.