Kamala Devam

🪔 About

Kamala Devam is a prominent international and multilingual dance artist, choreographer, and educator, primarily known for her work in Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance. She began her extensive training in Bharatanatyam at the age of five in Northern California, studying for thirteen years with Kalakshetra Katherine and K.P. Kunhiraman at their school, Kalanjali: Dances of India. Furthering her classical Indian dance education, she undertook intensive studies with the renowned Dhananjayans in 1994 and with Kalakshetra K.P. Yesodha in Chennai in 2002. Devam also pursued Western contemporary dance, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from San Francisco State University in 2001. Her performing career spans over two decades, during which she has performed Bharatanatyam professionally in Malaysia, India, and the United Kingdom. She toured the US and Mexico with the California Contemporary Dancers and gained significant international recognition performing with leading companies. Notably, she performed with Akram Khan Company at the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony and toured globally for eight years (2004-2012) with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. Her diverse performance credits also include collaborations with English National Opera, Akademi, and Seeta Patel Dance, among others. Devam co-created the multi-award-winning dance film "The Art of Defining Me" in 2013 with Seeta Patel. In 2016, Kamala Devam founded the Kamala Devam Company (KDC) to explore the intersection of Western and Indian aesthetics, themes, and movement forms, integrating Bharatanatyam, contemporary dance, acrobatics, and Kalaripayattu. KDC's debut UK tour in Autumn 2018 with "Ankusha and Other Mysteries" received national critical acclaim. As a choreographer, Devam has created works like "Jati-Swara-Leela" (2017-2018), "Less of Me" (2015), and "Ankusha" (2015-2016), and has been commissioned for opera, university, and youth dance companies. An accomplished educator, Devam is a Senior Lecturer on the BA (Hons) Dance course at the University of East London, where she lectures on technique, choreography, and industry modules. She previously held positions as an HPL at UEL (2013-2024) and an Associate Lecturer at the University of Surrey (2019-2022). She also teaches Bharatanatyam and Kalaripayattu and has led Bharatanatyam workshops for Akademi. Awards & Honours: Multi-award-winning dance film 'The Art of Defining Me' (2013).