Nirupama Rajendra

🪔 About

Nirupama Rajendra, born on March 1, 1970, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, is an acclaimed Indian classical dancer proficient in both Bharatanatyam and Kathak. Hailing from a family of educationists, artists, and traditional Harikatha performers, she began her formal dance training at a young age. Her initial training in Bharatanatyam was under gurus such as Narmada Jayaram and Kalanidhi Narayana. She later pursued Kathak, receiving foundational instruction from Guru Maya Rao in Bangalore. She further honed her Kathak skills through intensive training with Kumudini Lakhia at Kadamb in Ahmedabad, adopting a contemporary approach, and studied the Lucknow gharana style with Pandit Arjun Mishra. Additionally, she undertook an intensive study of Natyashastra vocabularies under Sundari Santanam and Padma Subrahmanyam. In 1994, Nirupama and her husband, T.D. Rajendra, co-founded the Abhinava Dance Company in Bengaluru. Their vision was to make traditional Indian dance forms more accessible and to fuse traditional and contemporary dance styles. They also established the Abhinava Dance School in 1996, which offers structured programs in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Natyashastra, and has trained over 3,000 students. The duo is recognized for their innovative choreography and performances, which have been presented across five continents to millions worldwide. Their contributions extend to dance education through initiatives like "Class to Classics" and the revival of the ancient festival "Madanothsava." Awards & Honours: Natya Mayuri (1998), Governor's Commendation for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Dance in Oklahoma (2008), Karnataka Kalashree Award (2011), Nritya Choodamani (2016), U.S.K Rao – Chandrabhaga Devi Dance Couple award from Attendance, Kalaa Saarathi Award from the Art of Living Foundation, Ananya Puraskara by Ananya Institutions, Purandara Acharya Award by Indira Nagar Sangeet Sageet Sabha, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2023), Devi Award from The New Indian Express (2024), Fellow of Vedic Wellness University (FWVU), Florida, USA.