Achuta Manasa | |
|---|---|
 Achuta Manasa, kuchipudi dancer, Andhra Pradesh | |
| Born | Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupation | Kuchipudi dancer |
| Website | achutamanasa |
Achuta Manasa is an Indian Kuchipudi dancer. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Achuta Manasa | |
|---|---|
| Achuta Manasa, kuchipudi dancer, Andhra Pradesh | |
| Born | Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupation | Kuchipudi dancer |
| Website | achutamanasa |
Achuta Manasa is an Indian Kuchipudi dancer. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Manasa was born in Andhra Pradesh. [1] [4] She is the daughter of Rajya Lakshmi and Ravi Chandra. [10] [11]
Her official website was launched by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. [11] [12] [13]
Manasa is acknowledged as leading young exponent of Kuchipudi – the classical dance form of India that has its cultural roots in ancient history. [14]
Her dance journey began at age six under the guidance of Guru Smt Madhu Nirmala, who had taught some basic steps and later Guru Sri Narasayya. Her debut live performance was at the age of six. She continued her artistic endeavor under the tutelage of renowned gurus by Guru Sri Mahankali Suryanarayana Sarma for three years where a strong foundation has been laid. Later, she has been moulded as a complete Kuchipudi artiste and has been transformed as a gem of Kuchipudi by her Guru "Devaparijatham", "Raja Hamsa", "Natyavisarada" Sri Kaza Venkata Subrahmanyam, who is a disciple of the Gurus Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam and Sri Chintha Adinarayana Sarma.
With over nineteen years of experience, Manasa has performed over 800 solo kuchipudi recitals at various locations in and across the country and has been honoured with many awards from several organizations, winning accolades and appreciation of audience and critics equally. [15]
A graded artist of Dhoordharshan now, the Indian Ministry of Culture recognized the spark of excellence in the young ten-year-old then and supported her with scholarships to pursue her training for the next decade. Manasa was a 2011 member of the International Dance Council CID – UNESCO [16] and was invited to give a performance representing India for the 31st World Congress on Dance Research in Greece. [17]
Besides dance, Manasa is an engineer and worked for a software company, but resigned from the job to dedicate her time to Kuchipudi. [18] [19]
Manasa has received several awards including:
Indian classical dance or Shastriya Nritya is an umbrella term for various performance arts rooted in Hindu musical theatre styles, whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. The number of classical dances range from eight to more, depending on the source and scholar. The Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight – Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. Additionally, the Indian Ministry of Culture includes Chhau in its classical list. These dances are traditionally regional. They consist of compositions in Hindi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, or any other Indian language and they represent a unity of core ideas in a diversity of styles, costumes and expression. Currently, there are 9 official classical dances in India.
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Vempati Chinna Satyam was an Indian dancer and a guru of the Kuchipudi dance form.
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Arunima Kumar, Sangeet Natak Akademi Yuva Puraskar awardee for the year of 2008 for Kuchipudi. As a young girl of 9, Arunima acted in the ballet Amrapali. The Kuchipudi Dance Academy formally launched her in 1995 where she performed her Arangetram at the Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi.
Dr Nirmala Visweswara Rao is a classical dancer in kuchipudi and Bharathanatyam
Nataraja Ramakrishna was an Indian dance guru. He was the chairman of Andhra Pradesh Sangeeta Nataka Academy. He was also a scholar and musicologist who promoted classical dance in Andhra Pradesh and worldwide.
K. Uma Rama Rao was an Indian Kuchipudi dancer, choreographer, research scholar, author and dance teacher. She was also the Founder & Director of Lasya Priya Dance Academy, established in 1985 in Hyderabad, India.
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Haleem Khan is an Indian Kuchipudi dancer, performer and movie actor, born on 10 April from Ongole of Andhra Pradesh and presently lives in Hyderabad. Haleem has performed more than 800 dance shows across the world, as well conducted Kuchipudi workshops overseas. Haleem specializes in Rupanurupam within Kuchipudi; he is well known for his performance of Bhama Kalapam and various roles in Annamacharya kirtanas. Hailing from a Muslim family in a small town, Haleem had faced many difficulties in learning Kuchipudi without his family knowing of it. Initially Haleem had performed under the stage name of Hari. His dance, specially the female impersonation has given him a critical acclaim and won him many awards and felicitations. Haleem is very passionate about preserving the art and is working on an interactive Kuchipudi dance instruction video.
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