Rama Vaidyanathan
Rama Vaidyanathan
One of the fore most Bharatanatyam dancers of her generation, Rama trained intensively under the legendry dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy and the celebrated Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan. She took over as the President of Ganesa Natyalaya after the unfortunate demise of her Guru and mother in law Smt Saroja Vaidyanathan in September 2023. Rama aspires to take forward the fifty year old legacy of Ganesa Natyalaya that she has inherited from Saroja Amma.
Rama Vaidyanathan
PERFORMANCE
A performance career spanning for more than forty years, Rama has developed her own individual style without forsaking the core principles of her dance form. Her technique is grounded and yet there is a fresh approach to the innumerable dance compositions that she has added to the Bharatanatyam repertoire. Having performed at all major dance venues in India she has received critical acclaim from connoisseurs for her unique thought process in choreography. Some of her note worthy performances abroad are The World Music Institute New York, the Smithsonian Museum Washington DC, the Tropen Theater Holland, Teatro de Fernando Madrid, The Musee Guimet Paris, Bozar Belgium, Milap Festival Uk, IPAC Monash University Melbourne, the Esplanade Singapore, The National centre for Arts Beijing, Teatro Juarez Mexico, National Theater Seoul, Minon Tokyo, National Museum Ottawa, and many more.
TEACHER
Rama has been teaching at Ganesa Natyalaya for the past thirty five years and has dedicated a huge amount of her time to pass on her knowledge to the next generation. Her workshops and master classes in India and abroad are greatly sort after, where she engages in teaching and inspiring a whole generation of dancers. Her students are known for their sound technique and creative abilities, and her distinctive compositions that are her original choreographies are extremely popular with dancers.
AWARDS
Rama has received recognition for her contribution to the propagation of Bharatanatyam. Some of her awards include the central Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar from the Govt of India, The “Kalaimamani” by the Govt of Tamil Nadu and the “Kalashree” by the Govt of Kerala, Kumar Gandharv Puraskar from the Madhya Pradesh Govt, Nadanamamani from Kartik Fine Arts Chennai, Vani kala Sudhakara from Tyagabrahma Gana sabha Chennai, Nritya Choodamani from Krishna Gana Sabha Chennai, the Nrithyakalanidhi from the Madras Music Academy.
VISION FOR GANESA NATYALAYA
While Rama endeavours to continue the legacy created by Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan, her mission is also to take the Institution to different heights of excellence and prominence. Her objective is to create dancers who are accomplished in theory and practise of Bharatanatyam along with having excellent performative skills. She wants to take classical dance to the under privileged giving them an opportunity to explore and express themselves through the medium of movement and expression. She is also creating new work with the Ganesa Natyalaya ensemble on themes that explore and bring out the diversity of Indian’s rich cultural heritage