Uma Chetty

About

Uma Chetty (nee Kannappan) has been an advocate of Bharatanatyam for most of her life. Now, living in Richmond, Virginia in the United States, she shared her dance journey and how it has been such a huge force of influence and inspiration in her life. She began classes with Mami at Cairnhill Community Centre and over the years, participating in numerous Navaratri programs and school concerts. By 1983, she completed her Arangetram at the age of 14. By the time she completed her undergraduate studies at NTU in Accountancy and started work at Ernst & Young, she had become a seasoned dancer. When she first landed in the US, she was first at Dover, Delaware, living in a small apartment. At a Deepavali party, she performed and was approached by a few mothers to consider teaching. By 2000, she had two sons and had embarked on a career in financial services after completing her CPA and MBA. At this juncture, she decided to start Apsaras Arts, with the blessings of both Sathyalingam Mama and Mami. In the past 20 years, Uma has trained 4 other teachers who now run classes with her, teaching over 200 students. They have now completed 44 arangetrams at Apsaras Arts, Richmond USA. In 2009, she received the “Bharatha Kalai Mani” award from both Mama & Mami in Singapore for her achievements in Bharatanatyam in USA. Till today, Uma continues her practice of taking classes at Apsaras Arts Singapore with Mohanapriyan Thavarajah as she considers continuous learning a key reason for her longevity as a performer and teacher. Uma Chetty’s dance journey has now exceeded 35 years and as she crosses into her fifties, she keeps up her own training. She attends workshops by Indian dancers who visit the US such as Leela Samson, Sreejith Krishna and Gayatri Krishnaveni Lakshmanan. In 2006, Uma had torn her knee meniscus and used physical therapy to recover.

Skills & Expertise