Minal Prabhu

🪔 About

Smt. Minal Prabhu is a distinguished Bharatanatyam dancer and a leading guru in Indian classical dance. Her extensive training began at Kalakshetra, where she dedicated ten years to studying both Vocal Carnatic Music and Bharatanatyam, earning a diploma and a postgraduate diploma in the dance form. She further honed her artistry by learning Abhinaya from the renowned Guru Kalanidhi Narayanan. At the age of eighteen, Minal Prabhu embarked on her professional journey, encompassing teaching, choreography, and performance. In 1976, she founded the Mudrika Foundation for Indian Performing Arts in Bangalore, an institution dedicated to nurturing aspiring dancers. Through her academy, she passionately imparts the values and distinctive dance styles of Kalakshetra, with a core philosophy of "creating artists not dancers." Her teaching methodology emphasizes understanding margam as an enlightenment for performance and allowing abhinayas to emanate from the inner soul. Beyond her academy, Minal Prabhu shares her expertise by teaching aesthetics at the Natya Institute of Kathak and Bharathanatyam at the Attakalari Center in Bangalore. She also conducts dance workshops internationally, including at The Srutilaya Institute in Singapore. Her choreographic works, presented both solo and with her ensemble, have graced stages across India and abroad. Demonstrating her commitment to accessibility, she has released several CDs and DVDs for self-learning Bharatanatyam, covering basic theories and margams. In 2026, Guru Minal Prabhu celebrated fifty years of her artistic journey, marking the milestone not with a retrospective, but with new choreographic productions titled "Vaahini" and "Ritu Manjari," showcasing her continuous forward-looking approach to the art form. Her contributions to Bharatanatyam have been recognized with prestigious accolades, including the Karnataka Kalashree award, the title of Bharak Kala chudar, and the Vidhya Tapasvi award in 2023 for her lifelong contribution to Bhakthi-oriented traditional dance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she swiftly adapted to online classes, ensuring her students, including those based in the UK and US, could continue their training without interruption. Awards & Honours: Karnataka Kalashree award, Bharak Kala chudar, Vidhya Tapasvi award (2023).