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   KERALA SANGEETHA NATAKA AKADEMI STATE AWARD for 2023 was conferred on Kathakali acharya Kottakkal Sashidharan Nair on July 21, 2024 at KSNA hall, Thrissur. More info: Rendezvous with Kathakali exponent Kottakkal Sashidharan Nair - Febina Mathew Ashish Mohan Khokar’s ATTENDANCE ANNUAL AWARDS 2024 are to be given on November 30, 2024 at Alliance Francaise, Bangalore. MOHAN KHOKAR WRITING DANCE AWAD: Ranee Kumar RAM GOPAL BEST MALE SOLOIST AWARD: Washim Raja UDAY SHANKAR CHOREOGRAPHY AWARD: Vishwakiran Nambi RUKMINI DEVI OVERALL CONTRIBUTION AWARD: Guru Vanashree Rao MK SAROJA TRUE GURU SHISHYA PARAMPARA AWARD: Aishwarya Nithyananda MAYA RAO LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Guru Aloka Panikar Special honor: Geetha Bhat for promoting Crafts/Chittara, Neha Muthiyan for dance publications, Akila Venkat for photography and graphic design  Dancer KOUSHIK DAS expired on 18th July 2024 at a Kolkata hospital succumbing to lungs infection (pneumonia). He joined Sapphire Creations dance Company in 2006 and performed in major productions like Rituranga, Parivahitam, Ekonama & Sapphirescope. He toured extensively in major countries with Sapphire like Nepal, Kazaksthan, USA, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singapore & Sri Lanka. He assisted Founder Director Sudarshan Chakravorty and co-choreographed productions, including leading workshops in University of Guwahati under National School of Drama and with Chorus Repertory of iconic theatre director Ratan Thiyyam & Geetanjali Dance Academy in Shillong. He was a recipient of Junior CCERT Scholarship in Kathak and studied under Ashim Bandhu Bhattacharya and creative dance under Kohinoor Sen Barat.  Dancer GEETA CHANDRAN to be honoured by Krishna Gana Sabha with NRITYA CHOODAMANI award on 13 December 2024 during the inaugural ceremony of the 68th Marghazi Mela in Chennai. RANJANI-GAYATRI receive the SANGEETA CHOODAMANI  Guru DR. MAMATA NIYOGI-NAKRA passed away on July 6, 2024. She was the disciple of Gurus U.S. Krishna Rao and U.K. Chandrabhaga Devi and performed extensively in India, U.K. and Europe, but an accident in 1969, soon after her arrival in Canada, left her with a permanent injury, which abruptly cut her off from performing. She founded Kala Bharati in Montreal, Quebec in 1981 and was one of the pioneers who taught Bharatanatyam in alien soil. Mamata created a new repertoire of classical items designed for children and choreographed a series of vignettes in Bharatanatyam style to capture Haiku moments. In Montreal, she presented her work regularly with La Troupe Kala Bharati, independently and in collaboration with various other organizations. She was co-author with Vincent Warren “Crafting Dance: Two Voices” (in preparation) and published many articles on Indian classical dance. She created Shishu Sadhana, a child friendly Bharatanatyam repertoire, book with a DVD (2005). In recognition of her contribution to Indian classical dance and Bharatanatyam, Mamata Niyogi-Nakra has been mentioned under the section Guru Parampara in the book Bharatanatyam, published by Marg Publications, Bombay (1997). She was the recipient of the Medal of Honor by the National Assembly of Quebec in 2016. To all those that crossed her path, she enriched their lives by infusing her love for dance, as a Guru, a teacher, a speaker, and a mentor. Her passion for dance, contribution at a scholarly level, and unceasing endeavors in the field of dance has left an indelible mark on many individuals and on the dance community.  Bharatanatyam dancer Hamsa Moily, daughter of former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily, passed away on June 30, 2024. She was 46. She has acted in Tamil feature film ‘Shringaram’ based on the lives of hereditary artistes of the 1920’s, and a short film ‘A portrait of a dancer’ directed by Ruchi Bakshi. More info  The KALIDAS SAMMAN of Govt of Madhya Pradesh goes to Dr. Sandhya Purecha and Pandit Uday Bhawalkar. The other awardees include: Sudha Raghuraman (RASHTRIYA KUMAR GANDHARVA SAMMAN), Kalpana Zokarkar and Pt Akhilesh Gundecha (SHIKHAR SAMMAN).  GURU C.V. CHANDRASEKHAR (22 May 1935 - 19 June 2024) A legendary dance exponent, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar fondly known as Chandru Anna and "Chandrasekhar Sir," specialized in Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam under the able guidance of Rukmini Devi Arundale. He imbibed from his mentor the best of Indian art, culture and aesthetics. He served the Benaras Hindu University and MS University of Baroda and retired as the Head and Dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts of MS University of Baroda. C.V. Chandrasekhar was a multi-faceted personality being a dancer, choreographer, researcher, musician, academician, composer and highly acclaimed teacher of Bharatanatyam. His presentation of Bharatanatyam technique was at its finest and an inspiration for all dancers. He has a number of music and dance compositions to his credit and his dance dramas have been highly acclaimed for their individuality and innovative approach. He was the artistic director of his dance institution Nrityashree in Chennai, along with his wife Jaya. Documentary filmmaker Vinu Vasudevan and Kuchipudi exponent Madhavi Mallampalli have made a film titled NRITHYA GANDHARVA: PROF. C. V. CHANDRASEKHAR, HIS ART & LIFE that was released on Jan 24, 2021 on YouTube. He received the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award, Kalidas Samman and Padma Bhushan (2011). Sincere condolences to his near and dear ones and the extended artiste family. FINAL RITES ON JUNE 20 AT 10AM AT BESANT NAGAR CREMATORIUM, CHENNAI. More info: Guru CV Chandrasekhar - Ashish Mohan Khokar Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar - Anjana Anand  The Madras Music Academy will confer SANGITA KALANIDHI award on Carnatic musician TM Krishna. Prof Parassala Ravi (V Raveendran Nair) and Geetha Raja will be conferred with SANGITA KALA ACHARYA awards. S Narasimhan and S Venkatesan, known as Thiruvaiyyaru Brothers, and violinist H K Narasimhamurthy will receive TTV AWARD. MUSICOLOGIST AWARD goes to Dr. Margaret Bastin. The music awards will be given on January 1, 2025 during the sadas. Mohiniattam dancer Dr Neena Prasad will be conferred NRITYA KALANIDHI Award at the inauguration of the Annual Dance Festival on January 3, 2025. The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi, at its meeting held on 21 and 22 Feb 2024 at New Delhi unanimously elected 6 eminent personalities in the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). The honour carries a purse money of Rupees three lakhs. The General Council also selected 92 artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional / Folk / Tribal Music / Dance / Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution / scholarship in the Performing Arts for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the years 2022 & 2023. The Award carries a purse money of Rupees one lakh, a Tamrapatra and Angavastram. . The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards were conferred by the President of India Droupadi Murmu in a special investiture ceremony on March 6, 2024. The General Council of the Akademi has also selected 80 young artists for Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2022 & 2023. The Puraskar carries a purse money of Rs. 25,000 besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram. These awards will be conferred by the Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi, in a special ceremony. AKADEMI RATNA: Vinayak Khedekar, R. Visweswaran, Sunayana Hazarilal, Raja & Radha Reddy, Dulal Roy, D.P. Sinha AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 2022 AKADEMI PURASKAR for Dance: Manjula Ramaswamy (BN), Nalini and Kamalini Asthana (Kathak), Kalamandalam Balasubrahmaniam (Kathakali), S. Noyonshakhi Devi (Manipuri), Bhagavatula Sethuram (Kuchipudi), Niranjan Rout (Odissi), Gobinda Saikia (Sattriya), Kala Vijayan (Mohiniattam), Sadhucharan Mahato (Chhau), Bharat Sharma (Creative & Experimental Dance), Karuna Borah (Other major traditions of dance and dance theatre- Ankiya Bhawan), Pusthakam Ramaa (Music for dance) Margi Madhu Chakyar (Other major traditions of Theatre –Kutiyattam) Chingtham Ranjeet Khuman (Thang Ta, Manipur) OVERALL CONTRIBUTION/SCHOLARSHIP IN PERFORMING ARTS Lakshahira Das (Overall contribution in performing arts), Prameela Gurumurthy (Scholarship in performing arts) USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN YUVA PURASKAR for Dance: Mandakranta Roy (BN), Kadam Saurinbhai Parikh (Kathak), Urmika Maibam (Manipuri), T.Reddi Lakshmi (Kuchipudi), Arupa Gayatri Panda (Odissi), Dimpee Baishya (Sattriya), Akshara M Das (Mohiniattam), Pradyumna Kumar Mohanta (Chhau), Mingma Dorjee Lepcha (Creative & Experimental Dance), Aparna Nangiar (Nangiarkoothu) Moirangthem Kendra Singh (Nata Sankirtan, Manipur) Anuthama Murali (Overall contribution in performing arts) AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 2023 AKADEMI PURASKAR for Dance: Urmila Sathyanarayanan (BN), Jagdish Gangani (Kathak), Margi Vijayakumar (Kathakali). Latasana Devi (Manipuri), Maddali Usha Gayatri (Kuchipudi), Snehaprava Samantaray (Odissi), Bhaben Borbayan (Sattriya), Pallavi Krishnan (Mohiniattam), Parikshit Mahato (Chhau), Nirupama & Rajendra (Creative & Experimental Dance), Perini Prakash (Other major traditions of dance and dance theatre- Periniattam), Kalinath Mishra (Music for dance) Piyal Bhattacharya (Other major traditions of theatre –Sanskrit Theatre) OVERALL CONTRIBUTION/SCHOLARSHIP IN PERFORMING ARTS Gopalan Nair Venu (Venu G - Overall contribution in performing arts), Jagdish Trivedi (Scholarship in performing arts) USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN YUVA PURASKAR for Dance: Apoorva Jayaraman (BN), Meghranjani Medhi (Kathak), Kalamandalam Vipin (Vipis V.S - Kathakali), Pukhrambam Reepa Devi (Manipuri), M. Surendra Nadh (Kuchipudi), Debasish Pattnaik (Odissi), Mukunda Saikia (Sattriya), Vidyamol Pradeep (Mohiniattam), Sunita Mahato (Chhau), Venkateshwaran Kuppuswamy (Music for Dance) B. Mallikarjuna Rao (Allied Theatre Arts – Make-up) Laxminarayan Jena (Overall contribution in performing arts)  The convenors of the 2024 Natya Kala Conference of Krishna Gana Sabha are Kathak duo Nirupama and Rajendra of Bangalore.  Vadodara based Mohiniattam dancer Dr. Ayswaria Wariar to receive the GUJARAT GAURAV PURASKAR 2018-2019 from the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi, Dept of Sports, Youth and Culture, Govt. of Gujarat.  Bharatanatyam Guru M.R. Krishnamurthy (for 2020-2021) and Kuchipudi dancer Sunanda Devi (for 2021-2022) are to be honored with the SHANTALA AWARD by the Karnataka government later in the year. Highlights ; Obituaries |
