Dr Janaki Rangarajan

🪔 About

Dr. Janaki Rangarajan is an internationally acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, and teacher, recognized as being at the forefront of the new generation of Bharatanatyam exponents. Her journey in dance began at the age of four, under the tutelage of Smt. Madhavi Chandrasekhar in Trichy, India. [2, 3, 7, 11, 13, 14] At the age of seven, she moved to Chennai and continued her training under the legendary Guru Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam at Nrithyodaya, where she studied for 15 to 17 years. [2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 13, 14] By the age of 13, Dr. Rangarajan was promoted to a student-teacher position at Nrithyodaya, where she taught numerous students under her guru's guidance. [2] She has since independently taught Bharatanatyam for close to 40 years, with students located across India, the USA, Europe, South America, Australia, and Malaysia. [2] Beyond her dance training, Dr. Rangarajan is also skilled in Carnatic vocal and veena music, having studied under Smt. Kamala Viswanathan and received advanced vocal training from Sri. D.K. Nagarajan. [2, 3] She holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics, but in 2004, she made the pivotal decision to dedicate herself full-time to Bharatanatyam. [5, 7, 13] Dr. Rangarajan is the founder of Nrityaniketan, a dance institution based in the Washington, D.C. area (Glen Allen, Virginia), established to promote South Indian classical dance. [4, 8, 9, 13] She is also the co-founder of Kalashraya, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of Indian classical arts. [3, 5, 7, 12] As a performer, she tours globally with her new choreographic works and conducts workshops. [3] She is an A-graded artist for Doordarshan and an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), notably being the youngest of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam's students to be featured in a Doordarshan television series on the Natyasastra. [2, 6, 8] Awards & Honours: Nadanamamani – Shriram Award of Excellence, Yagnaraman Award of Excellence, MetroDC Dance Award (Emerging Performer) (2012), Kala Rathna, Vasanthalakshmi-Narasimhachari Award, Rohini Krishnan Endowment Prize (Guru KJ Sarasa Memorial Award), NCA Excellence Award, Sathya Nrithya Sundaram, Nritya Shiromani, Singar Mani, Outstanding Contribution to Dance Award, Dance Connect Commissioning Project Award, Strauss Fellowship for Choreography (2010), Young Talent Promotion Award (1995).