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December 2014

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On the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha honoured dance critic Dr Sunil Kothari with NATYA KALA VISAARADA-HA, and Leela Venkataraman and Nandini Ramani with NATYA KALA VISAARADAA awards on 31st December 2014.Yamini Krishnamurthy conferred the awards, with felicitations by Swapnasundari, convener of the 34th Natya Kala Conference, Chennai.

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On 25th December 2014, Odissi dancer Ileana Citaristi was conferred with ACRUX SHOWCASE ODISHA AWARD for Art and Culture at Bhubaneswar.

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Nataraja Samskritika Kala Peetham, founded by Maddali Suryaprakash honored the following in Dec 2014 in Vijayawada: NATARAJA AWARD for Kuchipudi exponent Mahankali Satyanarayana Sarma, VEDANTAM SATYANARAYANA SARMA AWARD for Guru Vedantam Manikyala Rao, CHINTA RAMAMURTHY AWARD for Kuchipudi dancer Yeleswarapu Srinivas, and GANA KOUMUDI AWARD for singer Vedantam Venkata Durgabhavani.

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Odissi dancer Rahul Acharya received the ADITYA VIKRAM BIRLA KALA KIRAN AWARD from the Governor of Maharashtra on December 22, 2014 at Mumbai.

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Tapas Cultural Foundation conferred the title VIDHYA TAPASVI for the year 2014-15 on veena artiste R. Parthasarathy and dancer Narthaki Nataraj for their service towards bhakthi oriented traditional fine arts. The award ceremony took place on December 21, 2014 at   Tatvaloka Auditorium, Chennai.

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Bharata Ilango Foundation for Asian Culture (BIFAC) conferred its first award SATABDHI KALAKARAHA (Artiste of the Century) on the 98 year old active performer Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair on December 20, 2014 at Subrahmanyam Hall, Gandhinagar, Chennai.

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Koodiyattam artiste Pothiyil Renjith Chakyar received the APPUKUTTAN NAIR AWARD from Nepathya on December 20, 2014 at Nepathya's koothambalam, Aluva, Kerala. He is a disciple of Ammanur Madhava Chakyar, Ammanur Parameshwara Chakyar and Ammanur Kuttan Chakyar. He is currently a visiting faculty at National School of Drama, New Delhi.

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The Indian Fine Arts Society conferred NATYA KALASIKHAMANI on Priyadarsini Govind on December 17, 2014 at Ethiraja Kalyana Nilayam, Chennai.

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On December 13, 2014 Nadabrahmam conferred NRITHYA KOVIDA on Bharatanatyam guru Krishnakumari Narendran and NRITHYA SEVAKA on Bharatanatyam exponent Zakir Hussain at TAG Auditorium, Chennai.

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Chennai Cultural Academy Trust presented KALASIROMANI to Madurai R Muralidharan for Bharatanatyam on Dec 12, 2014 at Rama Rao Kala Mandap, Chennai.

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Zakir Hussain (Bharatanatyam), Deepika Reddy (Kuchipudi), Sujata Mohapatra (Odissi), Ratikant Mohapatra (Odissi), Gayatri Kannan (Bharatanatyam) received NRITYA CHOODAMANI, A Lakshmanaswamy (Bharatanatyam) received ACHARYA CHOODAMANI on December 11, 2014 from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. The Nritya Choodamani award carries a gold medal, purse of Rs.2 lakhs and a citation. Acharya Choodamani award carries a gold medal, purse of Rs.1 lakh and a citation.

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The group Parashah (Roja Kannan, Priya Murle, N Srikanth & Aswathy) received the YAGNARAMAN ENDOWNMENT AWARD for the best performance for 2013 from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha on the 11th of December 2014 in Chennai.

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The Mylapore Fine Arts Club presented NRITHYA KALA NIPUNA to Bharatanatyam dancer Rajeswari Sainath on Dec 10, 2014 in Chennai.

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On Dec 9, 2014 Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha conferred VANI KALA SUDHAKARA on Leela Samson in Chennai.

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On December 7, 2014 Urise Vedic Sangeeta Academy honored Bharatanatyam Guru B. Bhanumati with the lifetime achievement award at Seva Sadan, Bangalore.

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Brahma Gana Sabha conferred NATYA PADHMAM on Priyadarsini Govind on December 3, 2014 at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, Chennai.

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Kartik Fine Arts conferred NADANAMAMANI on Bharatanatyam dancer Anwesha Das on Dec 1, 2014 at the inaugural function of its 40th Annual Art Festival at Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai. On Dec 19, Medha Hari received NATYA CHUDAR  and Nritya Jagannathan received NRITHYAJYOTI AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN BHARATANATYAM at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore

November 2014

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Bharat Kalachar honoured the following artistes on November 30, 2014 on the inaugural day of the 28th Margazhi Mahotsav, Chennai. NATYA SANGEETHA KALA BHARATHI - Nandini Anand (vocal), T Sashidar (flute), Adyar Gopinath (mridangam); VISWA KALA BHARATHI – Priyadarsini Govind (dance); ACHARYA KALA BHARATHI – A Janardhanan (BN guru); KALA SEVA BHARATHI – Cleveland Sundaram (service to dance/music); YUVA KALA BHARATHI – Aishwarya Ananth (BN), Harinie Jeevitha (BN), Manasvini Ramachandran (BN, vocal, nattuvangam).

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Attendance awards for 2014 was given on November 30, 2014 at Alliance Francaise, Bangalore. RAM GOPAL BEST SOLO MALE DANCER AWARD to Aniruddha Knight, MOHAN KHOKAR OVERALL EXCELLANCE AWARD to Dr. Anita Ratnam, UDAY SHANKAR CHOREOGRAPHY AWARD to Guru B Banumathi, RUKMINI DEVI SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION AWARD to Guru C Radhakrishna, MAYA RAO LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD to Vimala Rangachar.

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Kiran Subramanyam and Sandhya Kiran have been awarded KARNATAKA KALASHREE, the Karnataka State Award for Arts from the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy for their contribution to the field of Bharatanatyam. The function took place on November 12, 2014 at Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bangalore.

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The government has appointed former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami as the new chairman of the governing board of Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, for a term of five years.

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Kalakshetra deputy director quits after phase of revival
Kalakshetra Foundation deputy director Karunakar Menon, who championed the revival of vintage classical dance dramas in recent years, has quit the arts academy.
- Divya Chandrababu, The Times of India, 6 Nov 2014

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Natyanjali Trust presented this year's NARTAKA AWARD to Bharatanatyam Guru VP Dhananjayan on November 2, 2014 at the 8th Nartaka Festival at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai.

October 2014

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On October 20, 2014 the BESSIE AWARDS for performance went to Akram Khan for production of 'Desh' and Aakash Odedra for 'James Brown, Get on the Goodfoot, A celebration in Dance' arranged and shaped by Otis Sallid at the Apollo Theatre, NYC. The music was deconstructed by Aakash and padhant, recitation of mnemonics, bols, was done by Prashant Shah, prime disciple of Kumudini Lakhia.

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Arsha TS, disciple of Guru Kalamandalam Remani Haridas got First Prize in the Bharatanatyam (Junior) competition held in connection with the Heritage Festival (classical dance competition) of 21st MTNL Perfect Health Mela 2014 held at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi from 15th - 19th October 2014.

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The Peak celebrated its 25 Anniversary in Malaysia on 16 October 2014. Ramli Ibrahim was one of the 10 celebrated Malaysians awarded for their contribution to the nation. Ramli Ibrahim was given the THE PEAK AWARD for Arts and Culture 2014.

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Artists who represent the finest talent in Vancouver's arts and culture community were honoured for their achievements at the 2014 Mayor's Arts Awards. Jai Govinda, Artistic Director of Mandala Arts and Culture and the Curator of the Gait to the Spirit Festival received the award for dance from Mayor Gregor Robertson at a special ceremony on October 7 at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, Vancouver. Honourees in the category of performing arts are Jai Govinda for dance, Brad Turner for music, and Nancy Bryant for theatre. They were selected by previous award winners. Winners each received a $3,000 cash prize.

September 2014

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Odissi dancer Suprava Mishra was honoured with INDIRA GANDHI RAJBHASHA AWARD by President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 14th September 2014 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

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Niranjan Satapathy, Pt. Umesh Chandra Kar, Prashant Nanda, Guru Sudhakar Sahoo
The 20TH GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA AWARD instituted by Srjan was presented to Niranjan Satapathy in the field of Theatre, Guru Sudhakar Sahoo in the field of Dance, Pt. Umesh Chandra Kar in the field of Music and Prashant Nanda in the field of Cinema for their outstanding contribution. Each award carries Rs.50,000 and a citation. Hon'ble Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik honoured these exceptional individuals on 9th September 2014 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar.

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Scholar Dr. Sunil Kothari received RANJIT RAM SUVARNA CHANDRAK for his contribution to dance from Gurjar Sahitya Sabha, at Vishwakosh, Ahmedabad, on Sept 1, 2014.

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The prestigious Sunbeam Schools group based in Varanasi has invited dancer Geeta Chandran to join its Advisory Council. Geeta will work at integrating culture and values in the schools' academic curriculum.

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The City of Austin has named Usha Akella, Poet and Writer, as the city's Creative Ambassador for the  3rd quarter of 2014. The Creative Ambassador Program is managed by the Cultural Arts Division of the  City of Austin Economic Development Department. This program is intended to open new avenues of dialogue and opportunity between Austin's creative community and markets worldwide. The program designates local Creatives to represent the City while traveling in promotion of their own artistic endeavors.  Usha Akella is the first South Asian in the city to hold the position.

August 2014

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The Ministry of Culture, Govt of India, has selected the following candidates for the Award of Senior and Junior Fellowships for 2012-13 for dance and dance music.
Senior Fellowships: Narthaki Nataraj & Dr. Lakshmi Ramaswamy (Bharatanatyam), Swati Ajay Mehta, Reema Goyal & Manjiri Makarand Karulkar (Kathak), Devulapalli Uma & Guda Sumitra (Kuchipudi), Kalamandalam Kavitha (Mohiniattam), Guru Ramhari Das, Shyamhari Chakra, Aruna Mohanty, Niranjan Patra & Braja Kishore Mallik (Odissi), P.N. Padmanabha Pillai, Kalamandalam Soman & P.K Rajumohan (Kathakali), Biranchi Mohanta (Chhau), Loknath Saha (Gaudia Nritya), Kusha Mahanta (Sattriya), Dharmendra Kumar Mishra, Naresh Rani, Dr. K Suvarchala Devi (others).

Junior Fellowships: R Vijay Madhavan, Bijal Vipul Haria & Bhramari Shivaprakash (Bharatanatyam), Santosh Kumar, Shailja Bisht, Astha Godbole Karlekar & Manisha Gulyani (Kathak), Sampreeti Malladi (Kuchipudi), Nikhila.G.M (Mohiniattam), Rahul Acharya, Bandita Ghosal, Rama Chandra Behera & Priti Ranjan Swain (Odissi), Namaram Rajeshwor Singh & Leiphrakpam Rasheshwari Devi (Manipuri), Aheibam Rishikesh Singh (Thang-Ta), Haripriya P.S (Kathakali), Foren Narayan Dhada & Rajatendu Rath (Chhau), Sudeshna Majumder (Gaudia Nritya), Bhabananda Hazarika (Sattriya), Pujita Krishna Jyoti, Iliya Mukherjee & Raja Anand (others).

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On August 27, 2014 V.P. Dhananjayan was awarded the Lalitha Kala Vedika Gold Medal, while Ranganayaki Jayaraman received the cash award in memory of B. Lalitharatnam, at R.K. Swamy Auditorium, Chennai.

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The BISMILLAH KHAN YUVA PURASKAAR for music, dance, theatre and traditional Indian arts from the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi for 2012 was presented on August 23, 2014 at Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhawan, Agartala, by Leela Samson (Chairman, SNA).
- Dance: Anuj Mishra (Kathak), Sinam Basu Singh (Manipuri), Uma Sathyanarayanan (Bharatanatyam), Yudishtir Nayak (Odissi), Vedantam Satya Narasimha Sastry (Kuchipudi), Bhabananda Barbayan (Sattriya), Preethi Balachandran Athreya (Contemporary dance).
- Music: Kumar Somanath Mardur (Hindustani vocal), Manjunath BC (mridangam), Bhuvanesh Komkali (Hindustani vocal), Anirudh Athreya (khanjira), Ranjani - Gayatri, Gayathri Girish (Carnatic vocal) Savani Talwalkar (tabla), N Guruprasad (ghatam)
- Theatre: Nalini Nihar Nayak, Asheish Nijhawan, Aditee Biswas (direction), Jasvir Kumar, Happy Ranajit (acting), Sandhya Gangadhar Salve & Nalini R Joshi (costume design), Gyandev Singh (lighting design)
- Traditional / folk / tribal: Lakhwinder Wadali (folk music, Punjab), Firoze Khan Manganiyar (folk music, Rajasthan), Vishaka Hari (Harikatha, Tamilnadu), Padmini Dora (folk music, Odisha), Nandesh Vitthal Umap (folk music, Maharashtra), Ganesh Sampatrao Chandanshive (folk music tamasha, Maharashtra), and Movmita Adak (puppetry), Bikrama Khakhlari (Bodo dance, Assam).

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On August 4, 2014 Natyarangam conferred SUDHARANI RAGHUPATHY ENDOWMENT AWARD on B Kannan (veena for Bharatanatyam), OBUL REDDY ENDOWMENT AWARD for Bharatanatyam dancer Vaibhav Arekar, VASANTHALAKSHMI NARASIMHACHARI AWARD for Manjula Amaresh (for talent promotion), SPECIAL AWARD OF EXCELLANCE to Rajkumar Bharati (music composer for dance), at Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai.

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At the 27th Annual Day Celebrations of ABHAI on August 3, 2014 Vyjayanthimala Bali received the NATYA KALANIDHI award, KALA SEVA NIDHI went to Adyar K Rama Rao,   GANDHARVA NIPUNA to K Rajasekharan and NARTAKA NIPUNA to Sathyanarayana Raju, at Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai.

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Chitra Visweswaran has been appointed as member Secretary of Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram (a cultural organisation of Tamilnadu State).

July 2014

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Parwati Dutta, director and guru of Mahagami Gurukul was conferred with BHARAT KALA RATNA National Award by Navaneetham Cultural Trust at Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy, Thrissur, Kerala on 14 July 2014. The award was given for her contribution and artistic services in field of Indian dance.
In appreciation of her valuable contributions to Mohiniattam, Guru Nirmala Paniker received BHARAT KALA BHASKAR award.

June 2014

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The Brahmakumaris Foundation honoured Lakshmi Mani as part of their Goodness Festival on June 27, 2014 in Chennai. Bharatanatyam gurus The Dhananjayans were also honored on the occasion.

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Bharatanatyam dancer M.S. Srilakshmi received the ARYABHATA INTERNATIONAL AWARD 2013 on the 22nd June 2014 at Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bangalore.

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K.P. Kunhiraman and Katherine Kunhiraman, the founders of Kalanjali: Dances of India were to be honored with the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival's MALONGA CASQUELOURD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD on June 14, 2014. With Kunhiraman's demise on June 12, the award was received on their behalf by their disciple Barbara Framm. Kalanjali opened the very first San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in 1978. When the curtain opened on the Festival stage that Saturday afternoon, it was Kathakali that started it all, launching a three-and-a-half decade journey that continues today. When Kunhiraman received the first choreography fellowship ever given to an Indian artist from the National Endowment for the Arts, the duo produced Keechaka Vadham, which was to be repeated many times over the years.

May 2014

* Kalasagar celebrated the 90th birth anniversary of its founder, Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval, on 28 May 2014 with the support of Palakkad Kathakali Trust at Palakkad Town Hall, Kerala titled as Oru Piranalinte Ormakayi. On the occasion, Kalasagar honored artistes in the field of Kathakali.

Vesham/Actor: Kottakkal Devadas, Pattu/Music: Kalamandalam Subramaniyan
Chenda: Kalamandalam Varanasi Narayanan Namboodiri, Maddalam: Kalamandalam Sankara Varier
Thayambaka: Kalloor Ramankutty, Chutty/Make-up: Kayyandam Neelakandan Namboodiri
Ottenthullal: K. V. Prabhavathi, Chakyarkoothu: Kalamandalam Easwaranunni
Koodiyattam: Usha Nangyar, Mohiniattam: Kalamandalam Himavathi
Bharatanatyam: Soumya Sathish, Kuchupudi: Anupama Mohan
Panchavadyam: (A) Thimila: Parakkattu Thankappan Marar, (B) Maddalam: Kallekulangara Krishna Varier, (C) Edakka: Pallavoor Santosh, (D) Thalam: Chelakkara Sooryan, (E) Kombu: Oodakali Muraly

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Kuchipudi artiste Dr Saraswathi Rajathesh was awarded NTR MEMORIAL AWARD 2014 by Suryachandhra International, Hyderabad on May 25, 2014.

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Mizhavu player Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan Nambiar was honored with the title PAANIVAADHABHOOSHANAM on May 24, 2014 on the inaugural day of Guru Moozhikulam Kochukuttan Chakyar Memorial Koodiyattam Festival conducted by Nepathya at Aluva, Kerala.

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Gopalkrishna Gandhi resigned as Chairman of Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, on May 21, 2014.

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Sangam Festival based in Princeton, New Jersey is an organization to preserve, promote, and present works of world class Indian classical artists and South Asian Arts - dance and music. The award of excellence is presented to individuals who have excelled in contributing to classical performing arts. The award carries a citation and a cash award. This year the award was presented to Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao on May 16, 2014 at Princeton, NJ.

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O FRIEND, THIS WAITING! by Bharatanatyam dancer (and pianist) Justin McCarthy and filmmaker Sandhya Kumar is on Kshetrayya Padams, the most treasured love songs of the dancing devadasis who rose to prominence in the courts of the 17th century Nayak rulers. The film tells the fortunes of this group of love songs and its devadasi performers from the 17th century to contemporary South India.
On May 3, 2014, O FRIEND, THIS WAITING! won the 61st National Film Award for best film in Art/Cultural category “for its wholly unconventional investigation of the Devadasi tradition in South India, combining an appreciation of this delicate and sensuous art form with a genuine sociological exploration.”
Producer: Justin McCarthy, Directors: Justin McCarthy & Sandhya Kumar, Camera: Amit Mahanti, Singer: Sudha Raghuraman, Dancer: Bharathi Penneswaran.

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Sharada Bose, Chair of Abhinaya's Board of Directors and Julie Mushet, Executive Director of Worlds Arts West announced the creation of the MYTHILI KUMAR AWARD which will be presented every year at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival to “an exceptionally promising upcoming artist” as selected by the Ethnic Dance Festival staff and auditions panelists.

April 2014

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The SHRISTI NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for dance 2014 was given on April 28, 2014 on the eve of world dance day to Kuchipudi dancer Manju Bharggavi by Dr. A.V. Satyanarayana's Shristi Center of Performing Arts and Institute of Dance Therapy at Bangalore.

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The Padma awards were given away on April 26, 2014 at a special function held at Rashtrapathi Bhavan, Delhi, by the President Pranab Mukherjee.
PADMA SHRI for Rani Karnaa (Kathak), Kalamandalam Sathyabama (Mohiniattam), Geeta Mahalik (Odissi), Elam Endira Devi (Manipuri).
PADMA BHUSHAN for Pt Vikku Vinayak Ram and Parveen Sultana.
PADMA VIBHUSHAN for yoga guru BKS Iyengar

* Sangeet Natak Akademi has an official Facebook Page now. 
www.facebook.com/sangeetnatakakademi

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Bharatanatyam dancer Navia Natarajan received the KALA RATHNA Award 2014, from Bhairavi Fine Arts Society (Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival), Cleveland, on April 19, 2014.

* The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi declared fellowships (Akademi Ratna) and Akademi awards (Akademi Puraskar) for 2013 in a meeting held on 21 November 2013. Three eminent personalities in the field of performing arts, namely Kanak Rele, R Sathyanarayana and Mahesh Elkunchwar were elected as Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). Mysore V Subramanya (performing arts) and N Ramanathan (music) were chosen for the Akademi Awards 2013 for Overall Contribution/Scholarship to Performing Arts.
The General Council of the Akademi also selected 38 artists (2 Joint Awards) from the fields of Music, Dance, Theatre and Puppetry for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the year 2013. The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rs 3 lakhs and Akademi Awards carry Rs. 1 lakh besides Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
The awards were presented on April 11, 2014 in Delhi by Pranab Mukherjee, The President of India.
Dance: Jamuna Krishnan and B Herambhanathan, (Bharatanatyam); Rajashree Shirke (Kathak); Kalamandalam MPS Namboodiri, (Kathakali); Chinta Seetha Ramanjaneyulu (Kuchipudi); Sangeeta Dash (Odissi); Jogen Dutta Bayan (Sattriya); Srinivasa Rangachariar (Major Traditions of Dance & Dance Theatre - Arayer Sevai) and Dhaneswar Swain, music for dance.
Music: Ritwik  Sanyal & Veena Sahasrabuddhe (Hindustani vocal); Hashmat Ali Khan (tabla); Dhruba Ghosh (sarangi); Aruna Sairam, D Seshachari & D Raghavachari - Hyderabad Brothers (Joint Award) in  Carnatic vocal; Trichy Sankaran (mridangam); Thiruvizha Jayashankar, (nadaswaram) and Bankim Sethi (Odissi music).
Theatre: Rameshwar Prem, Pundalik Narayan Naik in Playwriting; Kamalakar Muralidhar Sontakke, Kewal Dhaliwal, Prasanna Ramaswamy in the field of Direction; Vasant Josalkar, Kusum Haidar in Acting and Krishna Borkar in the field of Allied Theatre Arts (Make-up).
Traditional/Folk/ Tribal Music/ Dance/ Theatre and Puppetry: Raj Begum, traditional, Folk Music/Dance & Theatre (Jammu & Kashmir); TAR Nadi Rao & N Jeeva Rao  (Joint Award), Folk Music (Tamilnadu); Gurdial Singh, instrument making (Punjab); Mohan Singh Khangura, Rabindra Sangeet (West Bengal); Umakanta Gogoi (Bairagi), Tokari Geet and Dehbichar Geet, (Assam), Lilavati M Kavi (Bajaj), Puppetry; Meenakshi, instrument making - ghatam  (Tamilnadu) and Sheikh Riyajuddin alias Rajubaba, Folk Theatre (Maharashtra).

* On April 7, 2014 KALAMANDALAM KRISHNAN NAIR MEMORIAL AWARDS instituted by Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Smaraka Gurukulam was presented to Kathakali maestro Chemanchery Kunhiraman Nair and maddalam exponent Kalamandalam Narayanan Nambeesan at Thiruvananthapuram. A cash prize of Rs. 10,001 and memento were given away by Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of the erstwhile Travancore royal family. 

March 2014

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Sujay Shanbhag, disciple of Dr. Vasundhara Doraswamy receives BALASHREE AWARD for 2012 for creative performance in Bharatanatyam, instituted by National Balabhavan to encourage young talents. Sujay is also learning Yakshagana and has earned a name in mono acting, Carnatic vocal, mridangam, drama, script writing, street plays, etc.

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Hemabharathy Palani, Rehearsal Director of the Attakkalari Repertory Company, was the first Indian to receive the PUBLIC'S FIRST CHOICE AWARD at the Finale of the 18th International Solo Tanz - Theatre Festival, Stuttgart, Germany, in March 2014 for her performance Trikonanga.

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Davesh Soneji's book 'Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory, and Modernity in South India' has won the 2014 Bernard S.Cohn Book Prize from the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). The awards ceremony took place on March 28, 2014 at Philadelphia.

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Composer and flautist GS Rajan received the SANGEETHA NATAKA AKADEMI AWARD from Government of Kerala on March 27, 2014 at Thiruvananthapuram.

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On March 24, 2014 the Tamil Youth Cultural Association of Dwarka conferred its Silver Jubilee CHENTAMIZH THANGAM Award (Art Category) on Bharatanatyam dancer Geeta Chandran.

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The Mylapore Trio has 60 years of Golu tradition from their foster parents and is famous for their thematic Golus at Madurai and Chennai temples for the last 5 years. The Trio - S Surendranath, S Amarnath, S Aparna - received the BEST WORKING MODEL Award from P. Dhanapal, the Commissioner HR & CE Govt. of Tamil Nadu at the 40th India Tourist Industrial Fair held at Chennai on March 20, 2014 for creating Mount Kailash display at HR & CE Pavilion.

* Kalabharathi presented the YUVA NRUTHA PRATIBHA AWARD 2013 to nine young performers who displayed their talent in various dance forms in Kalabharathi 'National Young Dance fest 2013' held at Trivandrum, Kozhikode and Thrissur Districts. The award selection was based on social media, online voting and by art critics' judgment.

Prateeksha Kashi (Kuchipudi) - Bangalore, Meera Sreenarayanan (Bharatanatyam) - Kerala, Pavithra Krishna Bhat (Bharatanatyam) –Maharashtra, Sruthy Jayan (Bharatanatyam)- Chennai, Aishwarya Raja (Bharatanatyam) Kerala , RLV Ramakrishnan (Mohiniattam)-Thrissur,  Saji Menon (Mohiniattam) –Mumbai, Suchismitha Dutta (Kathak) - West Bengal, Barkha Tanvir (Odissi)- New Delhi,  are the selected young  talents of the year.
The award distribution was held on March 17, 2014 at Kerala Sahitya Academy, Thrissur. A cash award of Rs. 5000 and citation was presented.

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In 2005, SCWO (Singapore Council of Women's Organisations) launched The Wall of Fame to honour some of Singapore's pioneering women activists, educators and philanthropists. Founder of Apsaras Arts, Neila Sathyalingam was honoured in this HALL OF FAME on 14th March 2014.

February 2014

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Bharatanatyam dancer Padmaja Suresh was conferred the REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship (RGKF) on February 28, 2014 at New Delhi. Director of Aatmalaya Academy of Dance, Bangalore, she received a fellowship and Karmaveer Chakra for her commendable work for the society.

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The KALAKSHETRA JOURNAL was re-launched on Feb 27, 2014 and the plan is to bring it out every quarter. The subjects cover fine arts as well as plastic arts. This journal edited by Lakshmi Vishwanathan will be as visualized originally by Rukmini Devi to cover all the arts. It is priced at Rs.250 and is available at Kalakshetra, Chennai.

January 2014

* The MAHARASHTRA RAJYA MAHAKAVI KALIDAS SANSKRIT SADHANA AWARD 2013-14 will be bestowed on Dr Sanddhya Pureccha.

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The MN SUBRAMANIAN MEMORIAL AWARD instituted by the Subramanian family was presented to Guru B Bhanumathy (Nrityakalamandiram, Bangalore) on January 11, 2014 at Music Academy, Chennai, in recognition of her exemplary choreography, teaching and performance standards.


The Music Academy conferred the SANGITA KALANIDHI AWARD on vocalist Sudha Raghunathan at its annual conference on January 1, 2014. The NATYA KALA ACHARYA AWARD was given to Bharatanatyam guru Chitra Visweswaran on the inaugural day of its dance festival on January 3, 2014.

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The 3rd PANDIT AMARNATH VAGGEYAKAR SAMMAN instituted by Pandit Amarnath Memorial Foundation was given to Swapnasundari at the India International Centre auditorium by litterateur Ashok Vajpeyi on January 1, 2014 at Delhi. The first Vaggeyakar Samman went to Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj and the second one to Pakistan-based sitar exponent Ustad Rais Khan.

Highlights - Yearwise listing