Hema Sharma

🪔 About

Hema Sharma is a distinguished Indian classical dancer and guru, originally from Chennai, India. She began her Bharatanatyam training at the age of eight under Kancheepuram Gnaprakasam. Her advanced studies included Nattuvangam with Padmashri Adyar K. Lakshman and dance with Srimati Shanta and V.P. Dhananjayan. Sharma is also proficient in other Indian classical dance forms such as Kuchipudi, Mohini Attam, and Kathak, as well as various folk dances. She holds the esteemed titles of Natyaratna and Natyakalaratna. Sharma established her first dance school in India at the age of 18, before moving to the United States in 1975 at the age of 23. In 1988, she founded Nritya, School of Indian Dance and Music in Kansas City, at the request of community members eager to promote classical Indian dance. Nritya was the first traditional Indian dance school in Kansas City and has since expanded with branches in Wichita, Kansas, and Des Moines, Iowa. As the artistic director of Nritya, she has dedicated her career to performing, choreographing, teaching, and volunteering to spread Indian arts and culture throughout the Midwest. Her extensive community involvement includes serving as the Mayor's Ethnic Enrichment Commission Indian Commissioner since 1993 and holding leadership positions in the India Association of Kansas City and the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center. Sharma has conducted numerous outreach programs in schools across the Metropolitan Kansas City area and the tri-state region. Her contributions have been recognized with multiple Madalynne Brock Trophy awards from the Ethnic Enrichment Commission for outstanding cultural outreach. Awards & Honours: Natyaratna, Natyakalaratna, Madalynne Brock Trophy award (1994), Madalynne Brock Trophy award (1995), Madalynne Brock Trophy award (1996), Madalynne Brock Trophy award (2001), Madalynne Brock Trophy award (2004), Madalynne Brock Trophy award (2007), Madalynne Brock Trophy award (2012).