Indian Fine Arts Society awards NATYA KALASIKHAMANI AWARD to Bharatnatyam dancer Geeta Chandran
Indian Fine Arts Society, one of the oldest and most prestigious Sabhas in Chennai presents Delhi-based Bharatanatyam exponent Padmashree Awardee Geeta Chandran with the NATYA KALASIKHAMANI AWARD (Gold Medal and Cash Purse of Rupees One Lakh) on Sunday, December 18th, 2022 at Ethiraja Kalyana Nilayam.
The honour will be presented by Sri K Harishankar (Secretary Narada Gana Sabha) who will also inaugurate the 90th chapter of South Indian Music Conference & Festival 2022-23. This is the prime time of the year as it is the Chennai December season when all the Sabhas present their annual calendar of events.
On the occasion, Chandran says: “I am highly honoured to have received this prestigious award from one of Chennai’s most prestigious sabhas. We are fortunate to be here today and be amongst legends who in their own special way have contributed to the highest standards of dance and music. As my undying passion, I have devoted myself to Bharatnatyam and will continue to do so…. I have passed on the learnings I have received from my beloved Gurus and hope that their legacy lives on… “
The Indian Fine Arts Society was founded in 1932 by Shri B.V. Gopalakrishna Rao and the violin maestro Shri T. Chowdiah. This year will mark the 90th season for the Sabha.
Vidushi Geeta Chandran is synonymous with Bharatanatyam the classical dance that she has practised for decades since her journey began at the age of 5 under the tutelage of her first Guru Smt. Swarna Saraswati hailed from the traditional Daasi Parampara. Since then, her dance voyage has embraced intense learning under several stalwart Gurus. Yet, Geeta ji has imprinted Bharatanatyam with her unique personality where delicate shades of abhinaya are offset by extremely challenging nritta sequences. Her vast knowledge and training of Carnatic music further imbues her dance with a unique flavour.
A widely feted artist and star-performer, Geeta Chandran uses her deep skills in Bharatanatyam as ‘force multiplier’ for the widest range of classical dance issues that have engaged her focus: exploring linkages between body and mind; forging relationships between solo dancing, group dancing and choreography; actualising the connects between the artist and society; and using dance as a medium for expressing abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspirations, myth and spirituality.
Dancer/Choreographer GEETA CHANDRAN is the Founder-President of NATYA VRIKSHA, the cultural organization that she founded in 1991, and which is established in New Delhi as a leading centre for training in Bharatanatyam in its most composite form. As a prominent Guru who is imparting invaluable classical dance knowledge to future generations, Geeta’s inspired contribution to Bharatanatyam’s teaching/learning pedagogy steeped in both tradition and modernity is widely acknowledged as a contemporary milestone in dance theory.
In her mission to “en-dance the universe,” she engages in a strategic range of dance-related activities: performing, teaching, conducting, singing, collaborating, organizing prestigious dance festivals and seminars, writing, and motivating a wide variety of youth audiences.
Geeta Chandran has received honours and awards from all parts of the world. Among her large stable of honours and awards are the PADMASHRI (2007); the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2016); and the Tagore National Fellowship (2018-2021). She is the recipient of the NRITYA PERUNJYOTI 2020 title bestowed by ABHAI, the Association of Bharatanatyam Artists of India. Geeta was also UNESCO’s South Asia Advocate for Artists in the COVID-19 pandemic.
