Kuchipudi is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra. It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.
Odissi (ଓଡ଼ିଶୀ) also referred to as Orissi in old literature, oldest surviving classical dance of India, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism through songs written and composed according to the ragas & talas of Odissi music by ancient poets of the state. Odissi performances have also expressed ideas of other traditions such as those related to Hindu deities Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism).
Kathak is one of the nine major forms of Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as Kathakar ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the Hindu epics through dance, songs and music. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word katha which means "story", and kathakar which means "the one who tells a story", or "to do with stories". 'Katha kahe so kathak kahave'- Kathak is the dance of story tellers. Stories narrated through the medium of the body, face, hands, feet in sync with the tabla and lehra.
Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance, the theory and practice of which can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra. The number of Indian classical dance styles ranges from six to eight to twelve, or more, depending on the source and scholar; the main organisation for Indian arts preservation, the Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Additionally, the Indian Ministry of Culture includes Chhau in its list, recognising nine total styles. Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. Each dance tradition originates and comes from a different state and/or region of India; for example, Bharatanatyam is from Tamil Nadu in the south of India, Odissi is from the east coast state of Odisha, and Manipuri is from the northeastern state of Manipur. The music associated with these different dance performances consists many compositions in Hindi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, Assamese, and many other Indian-Subcontinent languages; they represent a unity of core ideas and a diversity of styles, costumes, and expression.
Mayuri Upadhya is an Indian choreographer, dancer, entrepreneur and TV personality based in Bengaluru, India. She is also the Artistic Director of the Bengaluru-based dance organisation, Nritarutya.
Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai.
Alarmel Valli is an Indian classical dancer and Bharatanatyam-Pandanallur choreographer.
Dr Nirmala Visweswara Rao is a classical dancer in kuchipudi and Bharathanatyam.
Madhavi Mudgal is an Indian classical dancer known for her Odissi dance style. She has won several awards, including the Sanskriti Award, 1984, President of India's award of Padma Shri, 1990, the Orissa State Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1996, Grande Medaille de la Ville by Govt. of France, 1997, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2000, Delhi State Parishad Samman, 2002 and the title of Nritya Choodamani in 2004.
Prateeksha Kashi is an Indian Kuchipudi dancer. Kuchipudi is a classical dance form originating from the village of Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh, India. Kashi holds a degree in Computer Science Engineering from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore.
Nirupama Rajendra is an Indian classical dancer in the Bharathnatyam and Kathak dance forms. She is based in Bangalore, Karnataka. Nirupama and her husband Rajendra perform Kathak together. They established the Abhinava Dance Company in 1994 with an aim to make dance more accessible. They are known for fusing traditional and contemporary dance styles. The dance duo has given many performances and received several awards including Natya Mayuri and Natya Mayura (1998), Karnataka Kalashree (2011) and Nritya Choodamani.
Reela Hota is an Odissi dance performer, educator and producer, who has several performances to her credit. Daughter of Yoga Guru, Bijoylaxmi Hota and former bureaucrat Purna Chandra Hota, Reela was exposed to dance, yoga & ashram life since childhood. Having trained under the 3 doyens of Odissi dance, Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, Srimati Madhavi Mudgal and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, she inculcated perfect rhythm, sophistication, grace and presentation skills. A trend setter, Reela Hota pioneered in making Indian spiritual philosophy such as Yoga, Kundalini and Sanskrit the theme of her performances and is credited for adding a new dimension to Odissi Dance - the spiritual aspect.
Annick Chaymotty, known by the stage name Kumari Devayani, is an Indian dancer who performs in the classical Indian dance style Bharatanatyam. She has performed in India as well as in festivals and concert halls in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Scandinavian countries, Estonia, and South Korea. Devayānī is an empanelled artist with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. In 2009, she was awarded the Padma Shri.
Elam Endira Devi, is an Indian classical dancer and teacher, known for her expertise and scholarship in the classical dance form of Manipuri, especially in the genres of Lai Haraoba and Raas. The Government of India honored her, in 2014, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of art and culture.
Prathibha Prahlad is a Bharata Natyam dancer, educator, choreographer, arts administrator, and author. She was the founder director of the Delhi International Arts Festival.
Ananda Shankar Jayant is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, scholar and bureaucrat, known for her proficiency in the classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. She is the first woman officer in the Indian Railway Traffic Service on South Central Railway and her 2009 TED talk is ranked among the top twelve Incredible TED talks on cancer. She is a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu and Kala Ratna Award of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for her contributions to arts.
Nandkishore Kapote is a Kathak classical dancer of Indian origin. He is a distinguished guide for one of the PhD programmes at the Tilak Maharashtra University, as well as at the Sri Sri Centre for Kathak Research (SSCARK) at Sri Sri University.
Narthaki Nataraj is an Indian trans woman Bharatanatyam dancer. In 2019, she was awarded the Padma Shri, making her the first transgender woman to be awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award.
Meenakshi Srinivasan is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, and an exponent of the Pandanallur style of Bharatnatyam. She trained under Alarmel Valli and is considered among the most promising soloists of the younger generation of dancers in this traditional style.
Puru Dadheech is a Kathak dancer. He is a choreographer and educator of Indian classical dance, and is known for his pioneering work in the field of Kathak. At the oldest Kathak department which was formed in 1956 at Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Public University located in Khairagarh, Puru Dadheech instated the first Kathak syllabus in 1961. He is the holder of the first Doctorate in Kathak Classical Dance and emphasizes the relevance of Shastras in the Kathak repertoire. He was awarded Padma Shri, the 4th highest civilian award of India He is currently serving as the Director of the world's first dedicated Kathak research Centre at the Sri Sri University, Cuttack called Sri Sri Centre for Advanced Research in Kathak.
