We had the good fortune of connecting with Shakti Theater and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shakti, why did you pursue a creative career?
Miami-based indie spiritual group Shakti Theater was discovered in 2022 by Vishnu Ramankutty and Julie King. They both were trained in classical music from an early age, later developing their unique passion for spirituality.

Julie King is described as the voice of the generation. She is an internationally acclaimed performer, multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, recording artist, conscious breathwork master teacher, sound healer, and author. Also known as Yulianna, she was selected for the 55th Annual Grammy Nomination for Best Vocal Performance. Winner of the Artist of the Year Award A&R World Wide, Best Actress Chicago Film Festival, LVFF, TIFF, and Colorado Film Festival, her single Don’t Take Your Love Away made its Billboard debut at #5 and #1 on Dixie Dance Kings. Her crossover-style live performances were broadcasted in 26 states around the US and in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine.

Srivishnu Ramankutty is an internationally acclaimed violist. His performances range from kirtan to classical music. Srivishnu has performed at the Festival de Saint-Denis (France), Metis Festival (France), Miami Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Klassisk I Sentrum (Norway), and the Eastern Music Festival (Greensboro, NC). As a kirtan artist, he has performed in the USA and India throughout various temples and ashrams.

After they met each other at the Gaudiya Vedanta Outreach Center in South Florida, they realized from meeting one another that they were both artists and that they could take their collective experience to come together and form Shakti Theater, with the joy of knowing they were similar in their training and spiritual goals for deep devotion. Shakti Theater draws from its colorful musical palette to create a unique experience through which the listener is taken through a spiritual journey channeled by Vishnu and Julie.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Julie King is a transcendental Vedic psychologist who has developed a signature transformational program “Reclaim Your Life”. It is based on spiritual holistic practices, conscious breathwork, meditation, and personalized mentorship. She is the developer of Breathworks Miracles and Trans Breath Certified Multidisciplinary Program. This program is based on ancient philosophy and modern psychology. Julie King was recently featured in Entrepreneurs Herald as one of the top ten life coaches to look out for in 2023.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We have to go to the beach where we can enjoy the sun, connecting with nature and the ocean, followed by dinner at Love Life Cafe which has the most delicious vegan sushi! We love our home spaces like Tantra Studios for amazing transformational workshops or Synergy Yoga for a powerful practice. The Florida Grand Opera has exciting shows, and definitely visit the Gamayuna art gallery and check out more live performances and nightlife of Miami.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
With deep gratitude, we give thanks to our families, friends, mentors, teachers, fans, and everyone supporting our creative careers as musicians. Shoutout to Miami Recording Studios: they helped provide live engineering and production support to us when we performed at the Festival of Colors of South FL in April of this year. They have been integral in working with us to record and produce our upcoming album that releases this Fall. We also want to give a special shoutout to the Sidorov Petya`s Theater, and Gamayuna (Ekaterina Abramova) for jumping into an upcoming collaboration with us. Titled Mystical Rhapsodies; Poetry, Music, and Art, it’s happening at the Star Academy in Sunny Isles on July 1st at 8 p.m, general admission is $40. Contact us for early bird tickets or inquiries at 7869014418.    

Instagram: shaktitheater

Image Credits
Aimee Hedman Chandelle Vidal

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