Aggie Brennmen

🪔 About

Aggie Brenneman is a prominent figure in Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance form, with over 40 years of teaching experience in the San Francisco Bay Area. She dedicated nine years to living in India, Nepal, and Malaysia, which deeply influenced her understanding and practice of the art. Brenneman received her extensive training in Bharatanatyam from the legendary Thanjavur Balasaraswati and her daughter, Lakshmi Knight. Her studies took place at the Center for World Music in Berkeley, the American Dance Festivals at Connecticut College and Duke University, and at their home in Chennai, India. She furthered her research into mythology and dance by studying with Smt. Shyamala, a disciple of Balasaraswati, in India, a pursuit supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Brenneman has performed across the US, India, Nepal, and Malaysia. Since 2016, she has regularly traveled to Chennai, India, to assist Aniruddha Knight, Balasaraswati's grandson, in teaching dance at his school. For three decades, she was a classroom teacher at Park Day School in Oakland, where she established a Bharatanatyam program that introduced over 500 students to the dance form. Currently, she also serves as a docent at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. Aggie Brenneman is committed to preserving the ancient Tanjore Court dance tradition in the distinctive style of T. Balasaraswati. Awards & Honours: National Endowment for the Humanities Grant.