Shri Jayan

🪔 About

Shri Jayan is a distinguished figure in Indian classical dance, renowned as an accomplished musician, dancer, choreographer, and teacher. He is the founder of Bharathakshetra School of Dance and Music, a prominent cultural center established on April 23, 1982, in Thiruvananthapuram, India. Shri Jayan is a prime disciple of PadmaSree Guru Gopinath and began his dance career as a student of Sri Sasi Thiruvallam. His extensive training includes tutelage under eminent teachers such as Sri Nattuvam Paramasiva Menon, Smt. Kalmandalam Kalyani Kutti Amma, Smt. Kalakshethram Vilasini, Sri Keerikkadu Sankarapillai, Sri Thrinath Maharana, Sri Kalamandalam Pathanapuram Biju, Sri Chengarapilli Anujan, Sri Bhaskara Pillai, Sri Chandran, Smt. Daksha Seth, and Smt. Margi Sathi. Shri Jayan's expertise encompasses a wide array of classical dance forms, including Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Keralanadanam, Ottan Thullal, and Kathakali, alongside contemporary dance and Kalaripayattu. Before founding Bharathakshetra, which now boasts over 500 students and more than 20 teachers, he served as a dance teacher at Noopura Dance Academy for fifteen years and at Sree Chitra Home, a charitable orphanage. From 2005, he contributed to Dance Ihayami, UK, as a resident musician, guest choreographer, dancer, and martial artist, eventually becoming its Chief Instructor of Indian dances for a decade. A highlight of his career includes a performance for the British Queen at Westminster Abbey on March 24, 2011. His notable choreographic works include "Kalachakram," "Kunchan Nambiar," and "Aadikavya Natyanjali." He has also choreographed for films, television serials, dramas, dance dramas, and Doordarshan. In 2011, he established "Bharatham," a youth wing that showcased its talent at the Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival in the UK in 2014. Shri Jayan is dedicated to the advancement of art, offering free arts education and fee concessions to talented and financially disadvantaged students.