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Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former West Bengal Governor, has been appointed as Chairman of the Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai.
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The 4TH BHARAT MUNI SAMMAN was
conferred by Kalingayana Touryatrikam on eminent theatre personality
Ratan Thiyam on December 17, 2011 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar. SJ
Prafulla Samal, Minister for tourism and culture, Govt of Odisha
attended as the chief guest.
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On December 17, 2011 the Indian Fine
Arts Society conferred NATYAKALA SIKHAMANI on gurus Narasimhachari and
Vasantalakshmi at Balamandir German Hall, Chennai.
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Chennai based VELS UNIVERSITY conferred a D. Litt Honorary Doctorate
Degree on Bharatanatyam guru VP Dhananjayan on December 14, 2011. Former
President Dr. Abdul Kalam will be the chief guest on the second
convocation of the University when Dhananjayan receives the honour.
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The Mylapore Fine Arts Club, Chennai, conferred NRITHYA KALA NIPUNA on
Bharatanatyam guru Adyar K Lakshman on December 11, 2011 on the
inaugural day of its annual festival.
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One of the young pioneers who were Fellows at the INK Conference this
December 8 – 11, 2011 in Jaipur was dancer Charles Ma, who was initiated
into Bharatanatyam by guru Vidya Shimladka. Charles is also a
contemporary choreographer and teacher.
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Attendance annual honours 2011 were given on December 10, 2011 at a function in Bangalore.
The RAM GOPAL AWARD for best male dancer to Ramli Ibrahim, the MOHAN
KHOKAR AWARD for overall excellence to Madhu Nataraj, and the UDAY
SHANKAR AWARD for choreography to Murali Mohan Kalva. Maestro L
Subramaniam, Chief Sect. Mr. Chiranjiv Singh and Aruna Sundarlal did the
honours.
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The MUDHRA AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
(instituted in memory of the late Gnanamba and P Obul Reddy) was
presented to Gurus VP Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan on December 9,
during the inauguration of Mudhra’s 16th Fine Arts Festival, Chennai.
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At its 32nd annual music festival,
Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha conferred VANI KALA SUDHAKARA on Guru
Kalanidhi Narayanan on the inaugural day of December 9, 2011 at
Mahaswami Auditorium, Chennai.
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Bharatanatyam dancer Roja Kannan
received the ACHARYA CHOODAMANI award from Krishna Gana Sabha on
December 9, 2011. The award carries a gold medal and a purse of Rupees
one lakh. NRITYA CHOODAMANI was conferred on Odissi dancers Surupa Sen
and Bijayini Satpathy. The award carries a purse of Rupees two lakhs
each, a gold medal and a citation. The DURGALAL ENDOWMENT PRIZE was
awarded to Kathak dancers Nirupama and Rajendra.
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On December 8, 2011 at the 42nd
anniversary celebrations of the Nungambakkam Cultural Academy Trust and
the inauguration of the annual Fine Arts Festival, Bharatanatyam dancer
Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala was conferred the NRITHYA KALASIROMANI, at Rama
Rao Mantap, Chennai.
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On December 6, 2011 Mayuri Upadhya, Artistic Director of Bangalore based
Nritarutya - Indian Contemporary Dance Trust won the Bronze Prize for
India at the International Competition of Choreography Plan held in
Seoul, with Gold Prize going to Idit Herman (Israel) and Silver Prize to
Martinus Miroto (Indonesia).
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On December 3, 2011, Brahma Gana
Sabha conferred NATYA PADMAM on dancer Lakshmi Viswanathan at Sivagami
Pethachi Auditorium, Chennai.
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Bharatanatyam dancer Janaki Rangarajan received the NADANAMAMANI award
from Kartik Fine Arts on December 1, 2011 at Narada Gana Sabha
auditorium, Chennai. Shruthipriya was conferred with NATYACHUDAR on
December 23, 2011 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on the inaugural morning of
the Natya Darshan seminar.
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Bharat Kalachar awards for 2011 were given away on November 27, 2011 at Chennai.
VISWA KALA BHARATI: Alarmel Valli, Malavika Sarukkai; ACHARYA KALA
BHARATI: Anitha Guha; NRITHYA KALA BHARATI: Meenakshi Chittaranjan,
Priyadarsini Govind, Shobana, Urmila Sathyanarayanan, J
Suryanarayanamurthy; YUVA KALA BHARATI: Deepika Potarazu, Revathy Kumar,
Navia Natarajan, Aishwarya N Balasubramanian, Ritwika Ghosh.
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On November 27, 2011 on the occasion
of 24th annual day of ABHAI, NATYA KALANIDHI AWARD was conferred on
Bharatanatyam guru MK Saroja by Prabha Sridevan, USHA SRINIVASAN
ENDOWMENT AWARD and GAANDHARVA NIPUNA on violinist TK Padmanabhan,
NIRMALA RAMACHANDRAN ENDOWMENT AWARD on Binesh Mahadevan by composer
Deva, Chairman of Tamilnadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, at Narada Gana
Sabha, Chennai.
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The Rotary Club of Delhi presented
Raja and Radha Reddy with the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for vocational
excellence in the field of Kuchipudi dance on November 24, 2011 at
Delhi.
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Marking its 51st anniversary on 6
November 2011, the International Centre for Kathakali in Delhi organized
‘Guru Sangamam’ at which gurus from various classical styles were
honoured: Kathakali - Guru Sadanam Balakrishnan and Leela Omcherry;
Odissi - Guru Mayadhar Raut; Mohiniattam- Bharati Shivaji; Bharatanatyam
- Saroja Vaidyanathan and Geeta Chandran.
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Bharatanatyam Guru Radha Sridhar,
Founder Director of Venkatesha Natya Mandir that was established in 1969
in Bangalore, was chosen for the SHANTALA NATYA PRASHASTI, the highest
award in Karnataka given for established dance gurus and dancers. The
award contains Rs 3 lakh in cash and a citation.
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Guru Vempati Chinna Sathyam has been awarded Honorary Doctorate DLIT by Central Hyderabad University.
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Lotus Music and Dance honored New York masters of traditional dance – Pt
Satyanarayana Charka (Kathak guru, East West School of Dance at Ananda
Ashram) and Beibei Gu (Chinese traditional dance, director of School of
the Arts, New York Chinese Cultural Centre) on October 23, 2011 at
Brooklyn, NY.
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 Devdasi
Nrutya Mandir presented the 2011 the DEVDASI
NATIONAL AWARD to Bharatanatyam dancer Mythili
Prakash from Los Angeles on October 14, 2011 at
Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar, on the closing day
of the annual Devdasi Festival. Every year, an
outstanding Indian classical dancer below the age
of 40 is presented the Devdasi National Award in
the presence of the last Devdasi of Puri Jagannath
Temple, Sashimani Devadasi.
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Meenakshi Medhi was honoured on September 25, 2011 with the NATIONAL
NRITYA BHUSHAN AWARD in the field of Sattriya dance, in the prestigious
India Theatre Olympiad 2011 by Utkal Yuva Sanskrutik Sangh, Cuttack,
Orissa.
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Urmimala Sarkar has been unanimously
elected as Vice President of World Dance Alliance
Asia Pacific.
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Bharatanatyam dancer couple from Mysore, Badari
Divya Bhushan and Anjana Bhushan were honored with
SUVARNA KARNATAKA RAJYOTSAVA PRASHASTHI by Suvarna
Karnataka Rakshana Vedike at Ravindra Kalakshetra
recently at Bangalore. Twelve eminent persons from
society were selected for the award.
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KVS AWARD was given to Kuchipudi dancer and guru
Vempati Ravi Shankar on 26th September 2011 at
YMHA Hall, Eluru, on the eve of the birthday of
Guru KV Satyanarayana.
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 Namma Rangaprapancha, a cultural
magazine brought out by the Rangaprapancha
Samskrutika Vedike, honored 23 persons from
various walks of life with RANGAPRAPANCHA AWARD on
September 14, 2011 at Ravindra Kalakshetra,
Bangalore. Musician Dr. Shymala Bhave, Dr.
Subramanyam, film stars Kaminidharan and Gurudath
honored Sai Venkatesh for 35 years of service in
the field of dance as light designer for dance.
Sai Venkatesh is also managing trustee, Sai Arts
International, and organiser of Sai Nrityotsav
every month in Bangalore. He is a graduate in
dance from Bangalore University and 3 years
diploma in dance choreography from Natya Institute
of Kathak and Choreography. He has done light
direction for more than 2000 dance productions
choreographed by eminent gurus like Dr. Maya Rao,
Vyjayanthimala Bali, Sonal Mansingh, Malavika
Sarukkai, Rama Vaidyanathan, Madhu Nataraj and so
on. He has toured USA, Europe and England with
Lata Pada, Menaka Thakkar, Chitraleka Bolar to
name a few. He is presently technical director of
Seva Sadan Auditorium, Bangalore.
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 Geeta Chandran joins Shiv Nadar
Schools Advisory Board Iconic tech visionary Shiv Nadar of HCL has
invited dancer Geeta Chandran to be on the
Advisory Board of his new venture Shiv Nadar
Schools. The dancer/choreographer will bring to
the Board her ability of synthesizing systems from
traditional knowledge learning into formal
learning systems of modern education. Geeta has
efficiently injected traditional Bharatanatyam
with her personal contemporary vision of dance and
is an expert in cultural curriculum development
from a practical point of view. Geeta joins three
other eminent persons on the Advisory Board:
Educationists Gowri Ishwaran and Prof. AK Sharma
and institution builder Muthusamy Varadarajan.
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Vyjayanthi Kashi has been elected as the Chairman
of Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy.
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On September 1, 2011, Chennai based Carnatic and
Hindustani musician TV Gopalakrishnan, and
Kathak queen Sitara Devi aged 91 were honoured
with the LEGENDS OF INDIA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD 2011. TV Gopalakrishnan is a vocalist, plays
the violin and is also an exponent of the
mridangam.
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Presided by Dr. Pappu Venugopal Rao, SAMPRADAYA
SIROMANI awards were given by Dr. GV Rao 82nd
birthday commemorative honour to artistes of
eminence - Veteran music composer MS Viswanathan,
veteran actors (stage & films) VS Raghavan and
AR Srinivasan and Bharatanatyam artistes Shanta
and Dhananjayan, on 21st August at Pethachi
Auditorium, Chennai.
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Natyarangam, dance wing of the Narada Gana Sabha
Trust, presented its annual thematic festival
Kadhai Kadhaiyam. On the inaugural day of
August 12, 2011, guru Rhadha was honored. The OBUL
REDDY AWARD for senior dancer went to PT
Narendran, SUDHARANI RAGHUPATHY AWARD to violinist
Kalaiarasan, and VASANTHALAKSHMI NARASIMHACHARI
AWARD to V Karuna Sagari for talent promotion.
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Vice President Hamid Ansari honoring Rathna Kumar
in New Delhi on July 22, 2011, with the 2010
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for Kuchipudi. |
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The Karnataka Nritya Kala Parishath awarded the
title NARTHANA NIPUNA to Shridhar and Anuradha
Shridhar on the occasion of Ankura festival of
young dancers on July 11, 2011 at Bangalore.
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Sri Krishna Gana Sabha celebrated
Yagnaraman July Fest 2011 from June 25 to July 3.
On July 3, 2011 Swami Dayanand Saraswathi
conferred this year's YAGNARAMAN LIFETIME
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD on dancer Padma Subrahmanyam
(cash award of Rs.1,00,000, a scroll and a gold
medallion) and the YAGNARAMAN AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
for young talent on ghatam vidwan S Karthick and
Bharatanatyam dancer Zakir Hussain (cash award of
Rs.15,000, a scroll and a gold medallion). |
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On June 23, 2011 Vyjayanthi Kashi received the
KALPASHREE AWARD from Kalpashree Performing Arts
Centre at Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bangalore. |
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On May 27, 2011, the McKnight Foundation of
Minnesota named Minnesota-based dancer
/choreographer Ranee Ramaswamy as the 2011
MCKNIGHT DISTINGUISHED ARTIST, in recognition of
artistic excellence spanning more than three
decades. Now in its 14th year, the annual honor
includes a $50,000 cash award and recognizes
individual Minnesota artists who have made
significant contributions to the quality of the
state's cultural life. In 1992, Ranee Ramaswamy
established Ragamala Dance. Ramaswamy is the first
dance artist to be selected as McKnight
Distinguished Artist. The McKnight Foundation will
honor Ramaswamy at a private dinner later this
year.
http://www.mcknight.org/newsandviews/news_detail.aspx?itemID=8788&catID=6375&typeID=2 |
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Anusha with the recipient of the Global
Empowerment Award - Susan Ann Davis, chair of
Vital Voices
Anusha Subramanyam, artistic director of Beeja in
London, won The ASIAN WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
2011 in the Arts and Culture Category. The
ceremony was held on May 19, 2011 at the Park Lane
Hilton in London. The Asian Women of Achievement
Awards co-founded by Pinky Lilani OBE in 1999,
were conceived to celebrate the often unsung Asian
heroines of British life. Such women make a huge
contribution in fields as diverse as business,
entrepreneurship and social and humanitarian work.
These awards are their moment in the spotlight. |
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 Los Angeles based choreographer
Malathi Iyengar is the recipient of 2010 LESTER
HORTON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD
DANCE for ‘Shivaya’ by Rangoli Dance Company. The
award presented by Dance Resource Center (DRC) of
Los Angeles is named after modern dance pioneer
Lester Horton. DRC established the peer-voted
awards 20 years ago and the presentations are for
choreography, performance, technical
contributions, teaching, and other disciplines.
Excellence in dance is honored during a ceremony
held each year and the 20th Annual Lester Horton
Awards was held on May 15, 2011, at Live Arts Los
Angeles.
http://www.drc-la.org/posts/view/congratulations-to-the-2010-horton-award-winners- |
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 Thankamani Kutty, Director,
Kalamandalam Calcutta has been awarded the D.Litt.
by the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata on
10th May, 2011. The earlier D.Litt. dancer
recipients from Rabindra Bharati University were T
Balasaraswati, Uday Sankar, Rukmini Devi Arundale,
Shanta Rao, Amala Sankar and Pt. Birju Maharaj.
Thankamani Kutty’s contribution to the field of
Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattam includes new
choreographies of varnams, padams, keerthanams and
thillanas in different languages. She has also
choreographed a number of dance dramas including
ones by Rabindranath Tagore applying the forms of
Bharatanatyam, Mohiniattam and Kathakali which
have been highly acclaimed. |
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 Kalasagar Awards 2011 were presented
at Ernakulam to the following artists selected
through nominations received from the art lovers
on 28 May 2011 which also happens to be the
birthday celebrations of its founder Kalamandalam
Krishnankutty Poduval who redefined the place of
the chenda in Kathakali. Eminent personalities
like Malayalam playback singer P Jayachandran,
novelist Sethu, Dr. KG Poulose, Former Vice
Chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam, Dr. OM Anujan,
AB Raj Anand, critic V Kaladharan participated and
presented the awards.
Recipients of KALASAGAR PURASKARAM 2011
KATHAKALI: Vesham /Actor: Kottakal
Chandrasekhara Varrior, Pattu / Music:
Palanad Divakaran Namboodiri, Chenda /
Percussion: Kurur Vasudevan Namboodiri, Maddalam
/ Percussion: Varanasi Vishnu Namboodiri, Chutty/Make-Up:
Kalanilayam Parameswaran, OTTENTHULLAL:
Kalamandalam Prabhakaran, CHAKYARKOOTHU:
Painkulam Damodara Chakyar, KOODIYATTAM:
Ammanoor Kuttan Chakyar, MOHINIATTAM:
Kalamandalam Kshemavathi, BHARATANATYAM:
Kalamandalam Chandrika, KUCHIPUDI:
Kalamandalam Mohana Thulasi, THAYAMBAKA:
Panamanna Sasi, PANCHAVADYAM: Thimila:
Annamannada Parameswaran Marar, Maddalam:
Cherpulasseri Sivan, Edakka:
Thiruvilwamala Hari, Thalam: Pallavoor
Raghava Pisharodi, Kombu: Machad
Kuttappan. |
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On April 29, 2011 Shristi Centre of Performing
Arts (Bangalore) presented SHRISTI NATIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR DANCE to Leela Ramanathan.
In 1972 she founded the Meenakshi Sundaram Center
of Performing Arts in Bangalore under the auspices
of the East West Education Trust. She is the
Honorary Director of the school where she still
teaches Bharatanatyam. She is a prolific writer
and researcher in classical Indian dance forms
with over 800 articles to her credit and a book on
the anvil. |
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WORLD DANCE DAY PURASKAR 2011 was conferred on V
Soumyasree representing Maharashtra for
contribution in the field of Bharatanatyam, by
Natraj Music & Dance Academy, Visakhapatnam on
April 29, 2011 on World Dance Day. |
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The 17th CHAMAN LAL MEMORIAL SOCIETY
AWARDS function was held on April 23, 2011 at Siri
Fort Auditorium in Delhi where special honour was
conferred on eminent theatre personalities. The
awards, which carry a purse of Rs. 25,000 each
along with a citation/ memento and a shawl, was
presented by the chief guest, cine and theatre
personality Tom Alter. Acclaimed theatre
personality Ratan Thiyam (Imphal) was honoured
with the Lifelong Achievement Award for enriching
the performing arts particularly the theatre world
with his extraordinary talent. Popularly known as
Sharmaji, Delhi based 80-year-old veteran HV
Sharma was conferred with the Award for Excellence
in Stage Craft for his outstanding contribution in
Indian theatre. Raghav Prakash (Delhi) was
presented the Award for Excellence in Light
Design. |
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On April 18, 2011 Veena Murthy Vijay was conferred
this year's KEMPE GOWDA STATE AWARD from Govt of
Karnataka with a cash prize and a shawl for her
outstanding achievement in dance (Bharatanatyam
& Kuchipudi). |
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During the St. Louis Indian Dance
Festival held from April 15 – 17, 2011 eminent
artistes were honored by Soorya Performing Arts.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS to Guru Hema
Rajagopalan and Guru Mythili Kumar, NRITYA
RATNAKARA AWARD to Sujatha Srinivasan (Cleveland,
OH) and Roopa Shyamasundara (Detroit, MI),
ABHINAYA SHIROMANI AWARD to Sunanda Nair (Houston,
Texas), Odissi dancer Sreyashi Dey (Ann Arbor, MI)
and Kathak artiste Charlotte Moraga were awarded
NRITYA CHOODAMANI AWARD, Hema Sharma (Overland
Park, Kansas State) was conferred with NRITYA SEVA
RATNA AWARD. |
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At the 10th Jivan Paani Memorial Festival
organized by Sonal Mansingh, the JIVAN RATNA AWARD
was conferred on veteran Odissi dancer Minati
Mishra on April 14, 2011 at India Habitat Centre,
New Delhi. |
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Eminent arts writer and columnist Shanta Serbjeet
Singh has been elected Vice-Chairman of the
Sangeet Natak Akademi, the national academy of
music, dance and drama in New Delhi, by its
General Council. The Chairman of the Akademi is
well-known dancer Leela Samson, who was appointed
by the President last year. The Secretary and
Chief Executive is Jayant Kastuar. |
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Kuchipudi exponent Vyjayanthi Kashi was honored on
April 3, 2011 at Mysore by His Excellency H R
Bharadwaj, the Governor of Karnataka for her
outstanding contribution to Kuchipudi, on the
occasion of the Vasundharotsav Dance Festival.
Vyjayanthi Kashi’s Dancejathre is India's one and
only dance fair. Shambhavi School of Dance and
Shambhavi Dance Theater located in Kengeri
Satellite Town, Bangalore is a unique Gurukul,
attracting many Indians and foreigners to pursue
the art form. |
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Leela Samson, chairperson of the Sangeet Natak
Akademi and director of Kalakshetra in Chennai,
was elected as the new chairperson of the Central
Board of Film Certification (CBFC) - film censor
board. She succeeded veteran actress Sharmila
Tagore, who ended her tenure on March 31, 2011. |
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At the Indian face-off on the show 'Guinness World
Records - Ab India Todega...' in March 2011, two
prominent Kathak dancers of the country Prachi
Shah and Vidha Lal were seen competing against
each other to set a new Guinness World Record for
“most Kathak spins in a minute.” While Prachi made
93 full spins, it was Vidha Lal who got into the
Guinness Book of World Records for making 103
chakkars in one minute. |
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Tridhara presented the 4th GURU DEBAPRASAD AWARD
to Dr.Yamini Krishnamurti for her contribution to
Odissi dance, on March 29, 2011 at Rabindra
Mandap, Bhubaneswar. Yamini Krishnamurti is known
worldwide for her presentations of Bharatanatyam,
Kuchipudi and Odissi. A name synonymous with
classical dance in India, Yamini had already
become a legend in her youth. Her dancing career
brought her numerous honours including Padma Shri,
Padma Bhushan, Kalidas Samman, Sangeet Natak
Akademi Award, Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi,
Legend of India. |
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Padma Awards, the country’s highest
civilian awards, are conferred in three categories
- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and
distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for
distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri
for distinguished service in any field. The awards
are announced on the occasion of Republic Day
every year.
The awards were conferred by the President of
India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on
March 24, 2011.
Approved by the President of India for the year
2010, the Padma Awards announced on January 25,
2011 comprise 13 Padma Vibhushan, 31 Padma Bhushan
and 84 Padma Shri Awards.
PADMA VIBHUSHAN: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan
PADMA BHUSHAN: CV Chandrasekhar (Bharatanatyam),
Madavoor Vasudevan Nair (Kathakali), Satyadev
Dubey (theatre)
PADMA SHRI: Makar Dwaja Darogha (Chhau), MK Saroja
(Bharatanatyam), Sunayana Hazarilal (Kathak),
Kalamandalam Kshemavathy (Mohiniattam), Dadi Dorab
Pudamjee (puppetry), Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry
(theatre), Peruvanam Kuttan Marar (Chenda)
Full list: http://india.gov.in/myindia/celebration_awards.php |
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Isadora Duncan Award Nominations
The Bay Area Isadora Duncan Award committee has
nominated Abhinaya Dance Company for 3 different
Izzie awards:
- Outstanding Achievement in
Revival/Reconstruction & Restaging for Varsha:
The Rainy Season
- for Music/Sound/Text for Synergy with San Jose
Taiko
- for a Sustained Achievement Award for Mythili
Kumar
The annual event commemorating the 25th
anniversary of the awards was conducted on March
14, 2011 in San Francisco. |
|
 Under Lata Pada’s visionary
leadership as Founder and Artistic Director,
Sampradaya, Canada’s award winning Indian dance
company, has established itself as an
internationally acclaimed dance company recognized
for innovation and excellence in its repertoire.
On March 10, 2011, at the Ontario Trillium
Foundation office in Toronto with the Minister of
Culture and Tourism, the Hon. Michael Chan,
Ontario Trillium Foundation representatives and
other notable not-for-profit groups in attendance,
Sampradaya Dance Creations was officially
announced as one of 11 organizations to receive
support for infrastructure projects, to serve a
broader cultural community through the province’s
Community Capital Fund (CCF). For Sampradaya
specifically, this grant will translate into the
opportunity to expand and upgrade its current
studio facility which is based in Mississauga
towards improving performance and training spaces
to increase opportunities for emerging and mature
dancers and performance artists to work together
in the Halton-Peel region. For an organization
that has just celebrated 20 years as a
professional dance company, this grant allows to
push forward with future plans to keep the company
vibrant, current and accessible to its community. |
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The first SUMITRA CHARAT RAM AWARD
FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT was given to Pt. Birju
Maharaj on February 21, 2011.
|
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At the 26th Konark Dance and Music Festival
conducted by Guru Gangadhar Pradhan Foundation at
Arka Vihar in Konark, the first GURU GANGADHAR
PRADHAN AWARD was conferred on Ustad Amjad Ali
Khan (cash award of 1 lakh, citation and shawl) on
the inaugural day of February 19, 2011 and the
12th SANJUKTA BIRLA AWARD (cash award of Rs.25000,
citation and shawl) was conferred on Dr. Minati
Mishra on the concluding day of February 23, 2011. |
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At the Kalaimamani awards function
organized by the Iyal Isai Nataka Manram on
February 13, 2011 at Chennai, Padma Subrahmanyam
was conferred the BALASARASWATI AWARD that carries
a cash award of Rs. 1 lakh and a memento. |
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On 12 February 2011, Odissi dancer Madhumita Raut
received the GHUNGUR SAMMAN 2010-11 at Jayadev
Bhavan, Bhubaneswar. |
|
 On February 11, 2011, Sri Sumukhi
Rajasekharan Memorial Foundation celebrated the
Eighth Anniversary and the commemoration of the
fifth year ‘Kala Poshakam’ concerts at Narada Gana
Sabha, Chennai. Dr. Rukmini Ramani, Founder
Director, Sivan Arts Academy, was conferred the
title GURU BRAHMAM (Lifetime Achievement Award)
for her yeoman service and contribution in the
field of Carnatic music. The foundation conferred
NRITHYA CHINTHAMANI on Bharatanatyam dancer V
Balagurunathan, and NRITHYA KALA VARDHINI on
Vidhyalakshmi Madhan, Lavanya Rathnaswami,
Shobitha Balakrishnan & Sindhuja Sankaran,
disciples of late Krishnaveni Lakshmanan and
Gayatri Balagurunathan, for their admirable
talents in Bharatanatyam.
The specialities of these trophies were - gold
coated temple kalasam for Guru Brahmam and silver
Coated Temple Kalasam for Nrithya Chinthamani and
copper Kalasam for Nrithya Kala Vardhini. These
were exclusively conceptualized and designed by
the Mylapore Trio, which according to Surendranath
(Creative Director) are auspicious and propitious
symbols, with sanctity attached to it. |
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On February 4, 2011 Kerala Sangeetha
Nataka Academy announced three fellowships, 17
academy awards, two endowments and 21 Guru Pooja
awards for eminent personalities from various
fields. For the first time, the academy also gave
an award for the best mimicry artist.
Endowment award winners are KP Nadhipulam for
ottan thullal (Dr TP Sukumaran endowment) and Babu
Parasseri for drama acting (CI Parameshwaran
endowment).
Some of the winners of academy awards are: Methil
Devika (Mohiniattam), KV Prasadh (mridangam), FACT
Padmanabhan (Kathakali costume), Madambi
Subramanyan Namboodhiri (Kathakali music),
Kalamandalam Narayanan Nair (maddalam), Mathoor
Govindhan Kutty (best Kathakali costume), Machadu
Rama Krishnan Nayar (kombu), Cheruthazham Chandran
(thayambaka), Marayam Muttam Johny (kadha
prasangam), TH Lalitha (violin), Jayaraj Warrier
(drama and caricature), KP Gopalan (drama-
direction).
Some of the Guru Pooja award recipients are:
Kizhakoot Anniyan Marar (melam), Kalamandalam
Husnabanu (Mohiniattam), Manni Neelakanda Chakyar
(koothu). |
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On February 4, 2011 the GURU ACCHAN MAHARAJ
KALAJYOTI AWARD was conferred on Kuchipudi Guru
Vempati Chinna Satyam during the Vasantotsava
annual festival conducted by Pt. Birju Maharaj's
institution Kalashram. |
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Sudha Raghuram is a Bharatanatyam
dancer and instructor based in Montgomery,
Alabama, USA. She has been awarded the prestigious
Dance Apprenticeship grant for Bharatanatyam for
2011 by the Alabama State Council for the Arts.
The grant amount is $1500 and this will be the 6th
year she has won this award for her ongoing work
in the field of Indian classical dance. |
|
 On January 29, 2011, the "Mylapore
Trio" of Sri Sumukhi Rajasekharan Memorial
Foundation celebrated the ninth year Margazhi Bala
Utsavam, an exclusive children’s festival in which
more than 750 children and youth participated in
various competitions. Titles and awards were
conferred on talented children at a special award
function by the Chief Guest Dr. C Vamsadhara,
Dean, Stanley Medical College, Chennai, and the
guest of honour was Manju Barghavee of
'Sankarabaranam' fame. NATYA BALA BRAHMAM was
conferred on R Ananditha, SANGEETHA YUVA BUSHAN on
V Karthik and S Manikandan. The MAHA VIDHYAPEETAM
Award (The Best Educational Institution Award) was
presented to Sri Jayendra Sarasawathi Swamigal
Golden Jubilee Hr. Sec. School, Sankarnagar,
Tirunelveli District, and received by its
Correspondent Nirmal Ramarathinam and Principal
Usha Raman. The Seventh Year PATRON SMT. R
NAGAMMAL ‘SWARNA KALAS’ ROLLING TROPHY was
presented to Ram Sangeeta Vidhyalaya - Guru
Anausuya Ashok Kumar for large participation. |
|
 The General Council of Sangeet Natak
Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and
Drama, New Delhi at its meeting held on 19 January
2011 elected two (2) eminent personalities in the
field of performing arts, namely Girija Devi and
Nataraj Ramakrishna as Sangeet Natak Akademi
Fellows (Akademi Ratna). The General Council of
the Akademi also selected thirty eight (38)
persons from the fields of Music, Dance, Theatre
and Puppetry for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards
(Akademi Puraskar) for the year 2010.
In the field of Dance, nine eminent practitioners,
namely Malabika Mitra (Kathak), Kalamandalam
Kombil Govindan Nair (Kathakali), Phanjoubam
Iboton Singh (Manipuri), Ratna Kumar (Kuchipudi),
Aruna Mohanty (Odissi), Manik Borbayan (Sattriya),
Uttara Asha Coorlawala (Creative &
Experimental Dance), Kalamandalam Painkulam Rama
Chakyar (Other Major Traditions of Dance &
Dance Theatre – Kutiyattam) and S Rajeshwari
(Music for Dance - Bharatanatyam) have been
selected for the Akademi Award 2010.
In the field of Music, nine eminent artists,
namely Chhannu Lal Mishra and Yashpal for
Hindustani Vocal Music, Budhaditya Mukherjee
(Sitar) and Nityanand Haldipur (Flute) for
Hindustani Instrumental Music, Suguna
Purushothaman and Mysore Nagamani Srinath for
Carnatic Vocal Music, Nagai R Muralidharan
(Violin) and Srimushnam V Raja Rao (Mridangam) for
Carnatic Instrumental Music, and M V Simhachala
Sastry (Harikatha) for Other Major Traditions of
Music have been selected for the Akademi Award
2010.
In the field of Theatre, eight eminent persons
have been selected for Akademi Awards 2010. They
include D Vizai Bhaskar (Telugu) and Atamjeet
(Punjabi) for Playwriting, Veenapani Chawla and
Urmil Kumar Thapaliyal for Direction and Dilip
Prabhavalkar, Banwari Taneja, Maya Krishna Rao and
Swatilekha Sengupta for Acting.
For their contribution to Other Traditional/Folk/
Tribal Music/Dance/ Theatre and Puppetry, ten
artists have been selected for the Akademi Award.
They are Harbhajan Singh Namdhari for Gurbani
Kirtan (Punjab), Nazeer Ahmed Khan Warsi &
Naseer Ahmed Khan Warsi (Joint Award) for Qawwali
(Andhra Pradesh), Dwijen Mukherjee for Rabindra
Sangeet (West Bengal), T Somasundaram for Folk
Dance (Tamil Nadu), Krishna Kumari for Folk Music-
Bhakha (Jammu & Kashmir), Chanda Jagdish
Tiwadi for Folk Theatre - Bharud (Maharashtra), K
Chinna Anjannamma for Tolu Bommalata – Shadow
Puppetry (Andhra Pradesh), and K V Ramakrishnan
& K C Ramakrishnan (Joint Award) for Pava
Kathakali – Glove Puppetry (Kerala).
Ashok D. Ranade will receive the Akademi Award
2010 for Scholarship in Performing Arts (Music)
and Jaidev Taneja will receive the Award for
Overall Contribution to Performing Arts (Theatre).
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships
(Akademi Ratna) and Akademi Awards (Akademi
Puraskar) for the year 2010 |
|
At INDRADHANUSH 2011 festival of
Indian classical dances conducted by SUNAINA, the
GURU SAMMAN AWARD was presented to Bharatanatyam
Guru Yamini Krishnamurti on January 15, to Odissi
Guru Mayadhar Raut on January 16, and Kathak Guru
Jitendra Maharaj on January 17, 2011 at Azad
Bhawan Auditorium, New Delhi. |
|
Guru Kanaka Sudhakar received the SWAMI
VIVEKANANDA NATIONAL AWARD in the field of Art and
Culture by the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda
International Foundation on the occasion of 150th
Birth Anniversary Celebration of Swami Vivekananda
on January 13, 2011 at the Siri Fort Auditorium,
New Delhi. |
|
Lata Pada, Artistic Director of Sampradaya Dance
Creations in Canada, has been awarded India’s
highest award for overseas Indians. The PRAVASI
BHARATIYA SAMMAN was conferred on Lata Pada by
Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the President of India,
on January 9, 2011 in New Delhi, to commemorate
lifetime accomplishments in the global Indian
Diaspora. Lata is one of 15 individuals of Indian
origin who were conferred this honour. |
|
At the 78th South Indian Music
Conference and festival of the Indian Fine Arts
Society held from Dec 18, 2010 at Chennai, dancer
Vyjayantimala Bali was honored with NATYA
KALASIKHAMANI on the concluding day of the
festival January 4, 2011. |
|
Kartik Fine Arts conferred
Anuroopitha Sampath with NATYA CHUDAR award on
January 1, 2011 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
Chennai. |
|
The SANGITA KALA ACHARYA award was
conferred by Music Academy on Bharatanatyam guru
Rhadha at the 84th annual conference held from Dec
15, 2010 to January 1, 2011 in Chennai. |
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