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A Boothalingam is an art critic, former Hindu columnist and art promoter. Anil Raj is a Vancouver-based writer, producer, performer, film critic, and self-confessed dance junkie. Trained in Bharatanatyam for the last twelve years, Aparna Mathur is currently learning at The Dance Centre, Delhi. As a leadership consultant, she works with a wide cross section of people in helping them tap their potential. She hopes someday to leverage the arts, in particular dance to enable the above. Bhavanvitha Venkat is a writer, critic and Kuchipudi dancer. He is a finance consultant, advisor to cultural institutes and likes to work on creative ideas. Chitra Sundaram is a Bharatanatyam dancer based in London. A choreographer, performer and commentator, Chitra Sundaram also serves on private and public organisations in advisory and trustee capacities. Hareesh N Nampoothiri is a visual design consultant by profession and a lover of classical art forms. Being an ardent follower of Kathakali, he conceptualized and directed a documentary on Kathakali titled 'Thouryathrikam,' which introduces the nuances of Kathakali to the common man. Writing and photography are his other passions. Jyothi Raghuram is a journalist with over two decades experience in both the print and electronic media, having worked with news organizations such as PTI, The Hindu and Indian Express. Her specialized writings on the performing and visual arts have been considered as benchmarks for their comprehensive and in-depth dealing of the subjects. Dr. Ketu H Katrak is Professor of Drama, University of California, Irvine.  Lakshmi
Vishwanathan, a prime disciple of Guru Kanjeevaram
Elappa Pillai, is an exponent of the Thanjavur style of
Bharatanatyam. She is also a trained
vocalist. She is the author of several acclaimed
books: Bharatanatyam - the Tamil Heritage, Kunjamma -
Ode to a Nightingale, Kapaleeswara Temple, Women of
Pride -The Devadasi Heritage. Her film ‘The Poetry
of Dance’ was commissioned by the Festival of India. The
Mamallapuram Dance Festival started in 1991 was
Lakshmi’s brainchild. She has served on several arts
committees. She is Vice President of Music Academy
(Chennai) and member of South Zone Cultural Centre.Lalitha Venkat is the content editor of www.narthaki.com Madhu Nataraj is an exponent of Kathak & Contemporary Indian dance. She is the artistic director of STEM Dance Kampni, Bangalore Mala Mohan is a grade A Carnatic vocalist for AIR. She is also a guest lecturer at the Queen Marys College, Chennai, Dept of Music. She completed an M. Phil in Indian music and is presently doing a doctorate in Niravals, the backbone of Manodharma Sangeetham. She has presented many papers at international and national seminars of music and conducts workshops in India and abroad. Manjari Sinha has an MA in Sanskrit from Allahabad University, MA in Music from Vikram University, Ujjain; B.Ed. from Lucknow University; Sangeet Prabhakar in vocal, tabla, sitar and Kathak dance from Prayag Sangeet Smiti, Allahabad; and further training in sitar from guru Arvind Parikh in the lineage of Ustad Vilayat Khan. She contributes articles in English and Hindi on Music (Hindustani & Carnatic), Dance, Art & Culture for various leading music journals and periodicals. She gives lec-dems on Indian classical music and dance in India and abroad. Masoom Parmar is an Art Manager at Nritarutya, a dancer and a physiotherapist. Maya Kulkarni performed extensively in the United States, Europe and India, and produced and choreographed several full-length dance dramas ('Shakuntala', 'Kumarasambhavam' etc.). Called "the dancer's dancer" by the NY Times, her ability to elicit rasa, through an understanding of text, music, and abhinaya is masterful. Meghna Rao is a member of the STEM Dance Kampni. Nagalakshmi Bhagavatula is a trained dancer and also legal advisor in a leading software company. Nanditha Prabhu is a Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam dancer trained under her mother Kalamandalam Suganthi and Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam respectively. She runs her dance school Mythri Art Academy in Chennai. Dr. Nima Poovaya-Smith is Director, Alchemy in Leeds. Dr. Nita Vidyarthi is a critic of performing arts, specialising in dance, dance theatre and expressions and is a regular contributor to The Hindu, and the Statesman Kolkata in dance, vocal music and theatre. She is trained in Kathak, Bharatanatyam and Manipuri as well as vocal, semi-classical music and Rabindra Sangeet. A Science communicator, Ph.D. in Polymer Science, Commonwealth Scholar and a retired Professor of Chemistry, Nita devotes most of her time to dance and theatre writing. Nishith Anand, a lecturer in the School of Management Studies at Chinmaya Institute of Technology, has an MBA from University of Calicut. An engineer by education and designer by vocation, Nishith also engages in painting, creative writing and photography. Padma Jayaraj is a freelance writer on the Arts and travel and is a regular contributor to www.narthaki.com Dr. Padmini Sirish of Aradhana Arts, a disciple of Late Guru Narmada, Bangalore, is currently being mentored by Rama Vaidyanathan, New Delhi. Poornima Ramaprasad follows Indian classical music and dance forms. She reviews Indian dance and drama events in the San Francisco bay area from time to time. Purnima Gururaj is a Bharatanatyam dancer/teacher based in Bangalore. Poornima Gururaja, a disciple of Guru Narmada, is an exponent of the Pandanallur / Tanjore School of dance. She founded the Kalasindhu Academy of Dance and Related Arts in 2009 in Bangalore. Radhika Kathal is a Bharatanatyam performer and musician trained in both folk and classical dance forms. A disciple of Geeta Chandran, Radhika is recipient of the ‘Scholarship for Young Artistes’ from the Ministry of Culture. She is pursuing a 2-year Diploma in Hindustani classical music from Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi. Rakesh Khanna studied contemporary percussion music at the University of California, Santa Cruz before switching to mathematics and moving to Chennai, where he co-founded the alternative publishing house Blaft in 2007. He is the editor of The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction Vols. 1 and 2 and co-editor of the comics-and-visual-arts collection The Obliterary Journal. A software engineer by profession, Rakesh Konni is a lover of classical dance forms and music. Writing and photography are his passions. Renu Ramanath is an independent journalist and columnist based in Kochi. A former staff reporter of The Hindu (Kochi) she specializes in visual and performing art forms, architecture and related subjects. Dr. Rohini Dandavate, a former dance officer of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, is an exponent of Odissi, a scholar and arts administrator. Dr. SD Desai, a professor of English, has been a Performing Arts Critic for many years. Among the dance journals he has contributed to are Narthaki, Sruti, Nartanam and Attendance. He guest-edited Attendance 2013 Special Issue. His books have been published by Gujarat Sahitya Academy, Oxford University Press and Rupa. After 30 years with a national English daily, he is now a freelance art writer. Satish Suri has been an ardent follower of dance and music for more than 40 years, starting with being on the committee of the International Music and Arts Society founded by Vijaya Devi, sister of the Late Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar and now presently is treasurer of World Dance Alliance Karnataka Chapter. He has presented several artistes, both dancers and musicians, over the last 40 years. Shalaka Deshpande is a teacher, anchor and dance enthusiast based in Aurangabad. Shveta Arora is a blogger based in Delhi. She writes about cultural events in the capital. A former journalist with Indian Express and The Hindu for 20 years in Bhubaneswar covering culture, Shyamhari Chakra is presently based at New Delhi as an independent dance writer. Smitha Shenoy is the Head of Journalism Department, Besant College, Mangalore. Sneha Ramachandran has been a Bharatanatyam student of Krishnakumari Narendran from the age of 5. After her arangetram at the age of 14 she has continued learning, teaching and performing. She currently lives and works in Dubai. Dr. Sreedevi N Nampoothiri is an Ayurvedic physician by profession and an ardent lover of classical art forms. She received basic training in Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam during her school days and is now pursuing her Mohiniattam under Kalamandalam Shobha. Sudha Sridhar is a Kuchipudi artiste and runs her own dance school Nartana Academy of Performing Arts in Bangalore. Sulagna Mukhopadhyay was trained in Bharatanatyam by Guru Thankamani Kutty and Indian folk by Late Botu Pal. She has an M.A. in Comparative Literature and has freelanced for various leading newspapers of Kolkata like The Telegraph, The Statesman and Ananda Bazar Patrika. She has written articles on dance and gender issues. She is a teacher of South Point School since 1996.  Dr.
Sunil Kothari is a dance historian, scholar, author
and a renowned dance critic. He is Vice President of
World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific India chapter, based
in New Delhi. He is honored by the President of India
with Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi award and
Senior Critic Award from Dance Critics Association,
NYC. He is a regular contributor to www.narthaki.com,
the roving critic for monthly magazine Sruti and is a
contributing editor of Nartanam for the past 12 years.
Sushma Mohan is a Bharatanatyam dancer and Carnatic
vocalist. She resides in Los Angeles and imparts dance
and music training to a handful of dance enthusiasts.Supriya Rajan is a disciple of Dr. Neena Prasad and is an administrator of the online Mohiniattam forum Lasyatarangini. Tapati Chowdurie learnt dance for almost 10 years from Guru Gopinath in his dance institution Natana Niketan in Madras. For a brief period, she was with International Centre for Kathakali in New Delhi. Tapati has a Master's degree in English Literature and Bachelor's degree in Education. She has a regular column in The Statesman, where she writes on dance and music. She also writes for The Hindu and Sruti. Presently, she is a freelance writer. Usha Raghavan, Director, Kalasagara UK, hails from Chennai. She learned Bharatanatyam under eminent gurus Adyar Lakshman and Kalanidhi Narayanan. A postgraduate in Indian Philosophy, Usha is a dancer, choreographer and teacher currently residing in London. Usha RK is a writer and Arts Consultant. Vaibhav Arekar is a Bharatanatyam dancer who runs his own school Sankhya Dance Creations in Mumbai. Verushka Pather is a Bharatanatyam dancer based in South Africa. Veejay Sai is a writer, editor and a culture critic. Veena Murthy Vijay is a senior Kuchipudi dancer and director of Sri Raja Rajeshwari Kala Niketan in Bangalore. Vidya Chandra Sekhar, commonly known as Diya, is a 2-time world record holder for longest Bharatanatyam performance (24 and 48 hours), having studied under the legendary Guru TK Mahalingam Pillai, his father, the celebrated Thiruvadamaradur Kuppiah Pillai, and the other equally renowned teachers of Sri Rajarajeshwari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir. She is the daughter / disciple of Sudha (Doraiswamy) Chandra Sekhar. Diya teaches Bharatanatyam live and online for advanced performers and teachers, in addition to performing nattuvangam and vocals for the Vidyanjali Orchestra which supports dancers across North America. Dr. Wahengbam Ibomcha Singh is a National Executive, Spic Macay. Articles Madhuri Upadhya of contemporary dance group Nritarutya based in Bangalore, describes the journey to choreographing her new work ‘Trishanku.’ Nandini Krishna is a Bharatanatyam artiste, dance educator, freelance journalist and Arts administrator based in Mumbai. ‘Nritya Uphaar- The Gift of Dance’ is conceived and executed by her. |
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