Smt. Karpagavalli Sai Sankar

🪔 About

Smt. Karpagavalli Sai Sankar is a distinguished Bharatanatyam exponent, educator, and choreographer, widely recognized as the Founder, Director, and Choreographer of Gurukrupa School of Indian Dance. Her journey in classical dance commenced at the tender age of three at Swami Haridas Giri’s Gnanananda Natya Mandali. She received extensive training from two eminent gurus: Kalaimamani Smt Krishnakumari Narendran, who imparted the Pandanallur style, and Acharya Guru Sri Udupi Lakshminarayanan, under whom she mastered the Kancheepuram Ellappa style. Karpagavalli Sai Sankar's talent was evident early in her career. At the age of ten, she portrayed the titular character in the film "Purandaradasar," India's first dance drama presented as a feature film. Her performance earned her the Best Child Artist State Award and the Best Child Artist award from the Film Fans Association, Devar Virudhu, both in 1980. She began her teaching career at a very young age, joining the dance faculty at Padma Seshadari Bala Bhavan in Chennai, and has accumulated over 33 years of teaching experience by 2011. Throughout her career, she has performed at various cultural venues across India, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Sydney, and Singapore, including a notable dance ballet in Colombo in 1981 before the former President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Jayawardene. In 2011, Smt. Karpagavalli Sai Sankar established the Gurukrupa School of Indian Dance in Cary, North Carolina, with the mission to foster Indian culture and devotion to art through dance. Prior to this, she also ran Bharatanatyam schools in Dubai and Australia and served as a dance teacher at the Global Indian International School and a senior dance instructor at the Global Indian Cultural Centre in Singapore, where she taught over 100 students. Her reputation as both a performer and instructor is solidified by numerous awards and accolades. Awards & Honours: Best Child Artist State Award (1980), Best Child Artist award (1980), Best Senior Artist Award (1986), Yuva Kala Bharathi Award (1990), Best Junior Artist Award (1991), Best Dancer Award (1992), First place.