Manjula Ramaswamy

🪔 About

Manjula Ramaswamy, a veteran Bharatanatyam guru and renowned exponent of the classical dance form, was born on March 28, 1958, in Vishmanapettai village, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. Her parents were Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher V.S. Ramamoorthy and Rajalakshmi Ramamoorthy. Manjula Ramaswamy began her dance training at the tender age of eight under her father. She also received initial training from "Padmashri" K. N. Dandayudhapani Pillai. She pursued higher education in dance at Hyderabad Central University, where she earned a Master's Degree in Bharatanatyam (MPA) and was awarded a gold medal for her exceptional performance and mastery of nattuvangam and dance theory. Manjula Ramaswamy embarked on her teaching career at the age of ten. She co-founded the Hyderabad-based dance institute Sri Rama Nataka Niketan with her father, and currently serves as its director. Over her extensive career, she has trained more than 3000 students, many of whom have achieved national awards, scholarships, and distinctions. Her dedication to teaching is evident in her students' success in various competitions and television reality shows like "Dance Plus" and "India's Got Talent." Manjula Ramaswamy is celebrated for her innovative choreographies and her unique dance production, "Deepa Tarangini," which involves dancers performing on brass plates and inverted clay pots while balancing small brass pots on their heads and holding lit candles. She is also an empanelled Bharatanatyam artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Her profound impact on the art form and her commitment to preserving its classical roots have earned her national recognition. Awards & Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2022), Ugadi Puraskar, Nritya Kalasagar Puraskar.