Meenakshi Srinivasan

Last updated

Meenakshi Srinivasan
Born(1971-06-11)11 June 1971
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality Indian
Occupation(s) Dancer, Architect
Website http://www.meenakshisrinivasan.com
External video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Srinivasan Bharatanatyam performance in Thiruvananthapuram, Asianetnews, 2 Oct 2017
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Soorya Festival 2016 : Meenakshi Srinivasan's Bharatanatyam, Asianetnews, 5 Oct 2016
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Meenakshi Srinivasan Bharatantyam, Divinity Series, 31 January 2014

Meenakshi Srinivasan (born 11 June 1971) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, and an exponent of the Pandanallur style of Bharatnatyam. [1] She trained under Alarmel Valli and is considered among the most promising soloists of the younger generation of dancers in this traditional style. [2]

Contents

She has performed at the annual international dance festival of the Madras Music Academy, the SIFAS Festival of Indian Classical Music and Dance in Singapore, and the Musee Guimet in Paris, among many others. She received the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2011.

In addition Srinivasan is a professional architect and runs a boutique architectural practice called Calm Studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. [1]

Early life and training

Born on 11 June 1971, in Chennai, [3] Srinivasan received her training in Bharatanatyam first under Venkatachalapathy of Kalakshetra then later under Alarmel Valli. [2] [4]

Career and notable performances

She has been featured at important sabhās in South India, such as the Madras Music Academy, [2] Brahma Gana Sabha, [5] Krishna Gana Sabha. [6] and the Margazhi Festival. [7]

She has performed in dance festivals in other parts of the country including Bangalore Habba, [5] the Nadam Festival, [3] the Parikrama Festival, [8] the Shilparaman Dance Festival, [5] Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata, [5] Devdasi Festival, [3] the Surya Festival, [9] the Swaralaya Festival [10] and the Nishagandhi Festival. [5]

Internationally she has performed in the SIFAS Festival Of Indian Classical Music & Dance at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore, [11] [12] the Singapore Repertory Theatre in Singapore; [13] Ramli Ibrahim's Sutra Dance Theatre in Malaysia, [13] the Gait to the Spirit festival in Vancouver, Canada, [14] [15] [16] the Young Masters Festival in London, England, [16] and the Musee Guimet in Paris, France. [17] She has also performed in Holland and Belgium. [18]

Awards

She has received several honours in appreciation of her work. She has been acclaimed for her energy and inner power and the "measured brilliance" of her "nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressive dance) and natya (drama)" [11] She has been conferred the titles Natya Kala Vipanchee (2007), Natya Kala Dharshini (2012) and Nrtya Abhinaya Sundaram. [19]

Srinivasan was awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, in 2011 for her notable talent in the field of Bharatanatyam. [20] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bharatanatyam</span> Major form of Indian classical dance

Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of eight Indian classical dance forms recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism and in general of Hinduism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian classical dance</span> Performance arts rooted in religious Hindu musical theatre

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rukmini Devi Arundale</span> Indian dancer and choreographer (1904–1986)

Rukmini Devi Arundale was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balasaraswati</span> Indian Bharatnatyam dancer (1918–1984)

Tanjore Balasaraswati, also known as Balasaraswati, was an Indian dancer, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style originated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, made this style of dancing well known in different parts of India and many parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padma Subrahmanyam</span> Indian classical Bharata Natyam dancer

Padma Subrahmanyam, is an Indian classical Bharata Natyam dancer. She is also a research scholar, choreographer, teacher, Indologist and author. She is famous in India as well as abroad; several films and documentaries have been made in her honor by countries such as Japan, Australia and Russia. She is well known as the developer and founder of the dance form Bharata Nrithyam.

Adyar K. Lakshman was a noted Indian Bharatnatyam dancer, choreographer and guru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunanda Nair</span> Mohiniattam Dancer

Sunanda Nair is an Indian dancer trained in Mohiniattam. She did her master's degree in this dance form from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya affiliated to the University of Mumbai. She has completed her PhD from University of Mumbai for her thesis "Intrinsic Lyrical Feminism in Mohiniattam". She was born in Mumbai, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitra Visweswaran</span> Indian dancer

Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai.

C. V. Chandrasekhar is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer, academician, dance scholar, composer, and choreographer. He retired as Head of the Faculty of Performing Arts of M.S. University, Baroda in 1992. Professor Chandrashekhar and wife Jaya Chandrasekhar are one of the best known dancing couples of Bharata Natyam in India, during the 1970s and ’80s, they performed with their daughters Chitra and Manjari. Also, his grandchildren Viraj, Dhenuka, Harshavardhan and Amshuman have been of great support to him. He now runs his own dance institution, Nrityashree, in Chennai.

Alarmel Valli is a leading Indian classical dancer and choreographer and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style in the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam. She is widely acclaimed for her ability to turn traditional grammar into deeply internalized, personal dance poetry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uma Rama Rao</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalanidhi Narayanan</span> Indian dancer (1928-2016)

Kalanidhi Narayanan was an Indian dancer and teacher of Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, who was the early non-devadasi girl to learn the dance form and perform it on stage in the 1930s and 1940s. After a brief career in the 1940s, she returned to dance in 1973 and became a notable teacher of abhinaya.

Vimala Menon, known popularly as Kalamandalam Vimala Menon is an Indian dance teacher and Mohiniyattam exponent from Kerala. She is the founder and Director of Kerala Natya Academy in Thiruvananthapuram.

Shanta Rao was a notable dancer from India. She studied and performed Kathakali, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maya Rao</span>

Maya Rao was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and educator, in Kathak dance. She is known for her pioneering work in Kathak choreography, especially in dance ballets, and is credited for bringing Kathak, a North Indian-dance style to South India, when she opened her dance school, Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography (NIKC) in Malleswaram, Bangalore in 1987. She was also the founder director of her dance company, "Natya and Stem Dance Kampni", an amalgam of NIKC and the STEM Dance Kampni based in Bangalore. After her early training under Guru Sohanlal of Jaipur Gharana, followed by Guru Sunder Prasad also of the Jaipur Gharana, and went to train under Guru Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow Gharana at National Institute of Kathak Dance in Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sucheta Bhide Chapekar</span> Indian dancer and choreographer

Sucheta Bhide Chapekar is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She is an exponent of Bharatnatyam. She is the founder of "Kalavardhini", a trust supporting the teaching and propagation activities in classical dance, where she also teaches Bharatnatyam. She has been a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2007).

Madras Kadiravelu Saroja, is an Indian classical dancer, known for her expertise, as an exponent and as a teacher, in the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. The Government of India honored her, in 2011, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of art and culture.

Kanaka Srinivasan is an Indian classical dancer and one of the leading exponents of the classical dance form of Bharat Natyam. She is a disciple of Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiyah Pillai and is aligned with Vazhuvur tradition of the dance form. She is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award of 1998. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for her contributions to Indian classical dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pratibha Prahlad</span> Bharata Natyam dancer, educator

Prathibha Prahlad is a Bharata Natyam dancer, educator, choreographer, arts administrator, and author. She was the founder director of the Delhi International Arts Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geeta Chandran</span> Bharatnatyam dancer from Delhi, India

Geeta Chandran is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and vocalist. Trained in Carnatic music, she is a visionary and celebrated artist in Indian classical Bharatanatyam, recognized for her work in theatre, dance, education, videos and films.

References

  1. 1 2 Menon, Anasuya (21 July 2013). "Seamless Grace". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Sai, Veejay (8 January 2017). "Meet the next gen Indian artistes keeping Bharatnatyam alive and flourishing". The News Minute. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Meenakshi Srinivasan". Sangeet Natak Akademi. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  4. ↑ Seshan, A. (29 October 2009). "Meenakshi's magnificent Margam". Narthaki: Your gateway to the world of Indian Dance. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Performances - 2000-2012". Meenakshi Srinivasan. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  6. ↑ "Upcoming Performances". Meenakshi Srinivasan. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Saranyan, Vidya (1 January 2015). "Focus on the Feminine". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Kantawala, Zainab (27 October 2017). "A celebration of dance". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "111-day Surya festival begins today". The Times of India. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  10. ↑ Ajayan, T. R. (1 October 2013). "Swaralaya Festival of Music and Dance; Kerala". KutcheriBuzz. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  11. 1 2 Alurkar-Sriram, Sarita (25 March 2016). "Brilliant all the way". Tabla. p. 17. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "A fine-arts showcase, Indian style". Today. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Meenakshi Srinivasan". Shruti: India's Premier Magazine for the Performing Arts. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  14. ↑ Smith, Janet (29 October 2014). "Gait to the Spirit festival brings in the best of bharata natyam". Straight. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  15. 1 2 THE 11th Dance Festival MUSIC ACADEMY MADRAS (PDF). Chennai: MUSIC ACADEMY MADRAS. 2017. p. 46. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "Meenakshi Srinivasan à Guimet". Inde à Paris. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "Bharata Natyam dancer Meenakshi Srinivasan on tour in The Netherlands and Belgium". Tonal Ties. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  18. ↑ "Meenakshi Srinivasan". THARANG UTSAV. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  19. ↑ Sinha, Meenakshi (4 October 2013). "Meenakshi Srinivasan: The values that come with learning a classical art are precious". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.