Smt. Selvi Pragasam

🪔 About

Smt. Selvi Pragasam is a distinguished Bharatanatyam artist, choreographer, and educator, recognized for her significant contributions to Indian classical dance. She graduated with honors from the KalaiKaviri School of Fine Arts, affiliated with Bharathidasan University in India, where she trained extensively in the Kalakshetra style. Her esteemed gurus include Shri V.P. Dhananjayan, Smt. Shanta Dhananjayan, Smt. Vijaya Mukundan, and Sri. Narasimha Chary. Beyond Bharatanatyam, she has also trained in other classical Indian dance forms such as Mohiniattam, Kathak, Manipuri, and Odissi, as well as global forms like Jazz, Salsa, and Hip Hop. Her training also encompasses Bharathanrithyam and ChitraNrithyam under Smt. Anuradha Vikranth, and Nattuvangam from Guru Uma Dhandayudhapani Pillai, Dr. Panruti Suresh, and Smt. Hema Sharma. She further honed her advanced choreography techniques under the guidance of Padmashri Smt. Priyadarshini Govind. Pragasam has performed internationally, notably before Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1987, where she was one of seven dancers selected to represent her dance school. In 2006, she founded the Indian-Fusion Dance Academy (IFDA). In October 2012, she founded Kalanityam Natyalaya in San Jose, California, an institution dedicated to preserving and propagating Bharatanatyam in its purest essence, with an emphasis on extensive theory. She co-founded InFUSE in 2017, a non-profit organization that promotes inclusive arts education, particularly for differently-abled individuals. Her students have achieved notable success, including winning First Place in Choreography at the International Dance Competition in Spain in 2025. Pragasam holds a Bachelor's degree in Business and a Master of Business Administration from Indian universities, an Associate Degree in Multimedia Programming, and a Master's in Dance. Prior to her full-time dedication to dance, she worked as a defense contractor for Lockheed Martin and a web developer for Lockheed Martin and NASA for nearly seven years. Awards & Honours: Marquis Who's Who (2022).