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   Dhwani confers the inaugural DHWANI SHAMBHU SMRITI PURASKAR 2025 award for Dance posthumously upon late Kathak Guru DR. MAYA RAO, and for Music, upon USTAD AMJAD ALI KHAN, on November 18, 2025 at Delhi. It is profound that this honour carries the name of the doyen of the Lucknow Ghana of Kathak- Guru Shambhu Maharaj - whose artistry and spirit deeply inspired Dr. Maya Rao’s own journey in Kathak.  Trinity Arts Festival confers the following awards for Bharatanatyam on November 19, 2025 at Chennai. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Bragha Bessell, Anitha Guha, Prof S Raghuraman BHARATA KALA RATNA: Meenakshi Srinivasan NATYA KALA MANI: Shankar Kandasamy KALA RATNA: CK Vasudevan NATYA RATNA: Bhavya Kumaran, Meenakshi Grama, Sandhya Easwar, Seethalakshmi Vijay, Shobit Ramesh, Shruti Priya Vignesh, Smriti Sudhakar, Vidhya Venugopal NATYA CHEMMAL: Anagha GS, Vaishnavi Srinivasan, Vedya Spurthi Konda, Vivek Ramanan  The 9TH NRUTYA NAIBEDYA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD was conferred on Odissi’s best known violin exponent RAMESH CHANDRA DAS on September 30, 2025 at Bhubaneswar.  Kathak dancer SONIA SABRI will be honoured with an MBE for her Services to Dance as part of His Majesty's King Charles III birthday honours. She will receive her medal on 12 November 2025 at Windsor Castle. Sonia is the first British born south Asian woman who has trained in her craft fully in the UK, to receive this recognition.  This year’s KERALA KALAMANDALAM KATHAKALI MUSIC AWARD will be awarded to KALAMANDALAM MOHANAKRISHNAN, a distinguished musician and torchbearer of the Kathakali music tradition. Over the years, Kalamandalam Mohanakrishnan has performed alongside some of the greatest Kathakali maestros, earning recognition as one of the rare artistes who has upheld and enriched the musical tradition of Kathakali on national and international stages.  After recently receiving the Lucy Bowen award for Inclusive Choreography, HRISHIKESH PAWAR, Artistic Director of Centre of Contemporary Dance, Pune, receives the BERLIN FELLOWSHIP from the Akademie der Künste (AdK), Berlin.  Ananda Shankar Jayant received the first NATYA SHIROMANI award from the South Indian Cultural Association (SICA) in Hyderabad on October 28, 2025.  Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha conferred the Sabha's highest award SANGEETHA KALA VIBHUSHAN on KALAMANDALAM GOPI, the living legend of Kathakali, on 7th September 2025 at Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium, Mumbai. On the occasion of the centenary year celebrations of Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Bharathanjali Trust’s Anitha Guha and trustees present the following awards on November 23, 2025 at RR Sabha hall, Chennai. SATHYA KALA SEVA RATNA SUNDARAM: Shobana Ramesh, SATHYA KALPANA PRAVEENA NARTHAKA SUNDARAM: Sathyanarayana Raju, SATHYA NATANA RATNA SUNDARAM: Shankar Kandasamy, SATHYA KALA RATNA SUNDARAM: Sailaja, SATHYA KALA NIPUNA SUNDARAM: Dr. Veena Murthy Vijay, SATHYA KALA POSHAKA RATNA SUNDARAM: DS Rajagopalan, SATHYA VIDWATH RATNA SUNDARAM: Dr. K Sivaloganathan, SATHYA SISHYA SUNDARAM: Sukanya Ravindhar, SATHYA NRITYA PROTHSAHANA SUNDARAM: Mahalakshmi Ashwin, SATHYA KALA PRAVEENA SUNDARAM: Sai Kripa Prasanna, SATHYA NRITYA LASYA SUNDARAM: Aishwarya Balasubramanian, SATHYA NARTHAKI VIMARSHAKA SUNDARAM: Lalitha Venkat, SATHYA KALA SADHAKA RATNA SUNDARAM: VV Ramani, SATHYA MELATTUR BHAGAVATHA MRIDANGA SIMHA SUNDARAM: Nagai P Sriram, SATHYA LAYA JALA SUNDARAM: Dr. GV Guru Bharadwaj, SATHYA GANA SUNADHA SUNDARAM: Vishwesh Swaminadhan, SATHYA UDHYAMI SUNDARAM: RS Kumar, SATHYA KALA PROTHSAHAKA SUNDARAM: KR Ramakrishnan  A multidisciplinary artiste, curator, and director who created work that resonated with audiences locally and beyond, Sydney based JIVA JEHANATHAN PARTHIPAN passed away on 1st October 2025 in Australia, aged 51. He was suffering from Parkinson’s for the last few years. Born in Sri Lanka, Parthipan trained in classical Indian dance in the UK and earned a Masters in Performance (Distinction) from Goldsmiths, University of London. He was the first male dancer to perform with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance, a leading British Indian contemporary dance company, that brought him into the public eye. He toured extensively around UK and received recognition for his work by numerous regional and dance agencies and funders. Working locally and internationally, Jiva’s multidisciplinary performance works have been presented at Tate Modern; ICA London; International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM), Paris/Dublin; National Review of Live Arts, Glasgow; Performance Space, Sydney; Bone Festival Switzerland, and JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience (South Africa), to name a few. As a Creative Producer in Australia, his projects include Handfed (Museum of Contemporary Art), Little Baghdad (Powerhouse Youth Theatre, Australian Museum), and Dance Africa Dance (Riverside Theatres). At STARTTS in Western Sydney, he supported artistes from emerging and refugee communities. Jiva was one of the small group of pioneering dance artistes who went beyond the traditional narrative to explore issues around sexuality and cultural diversity. He brought people and communities together through the power of art. More info: Jiva Parthipan - Circling the Outsider - Donald Hutera  Pt Laxmikant Palit, Dhaneswar Swain, V. V. Ramani, Niranjan Rout, Sivarajah Natarajan At the 19th Guru Debaprasad Award Festival organized by Tridhara, the following awards were presented at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar on October 24 & 25, 2025. GURU DEBAPRASAD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2025: Guru Laxmidhar Raula (Rama Leela), Pt Laxmikant Palit (Odissi music), Guru Dhaneswar Swain (Odissi mardala), and V. V. Ramani (Art Critic). GURU DEBAPRASAD AWARD 2025: Guru Niranjan Rout (Odissi dance), Sivarajah Natarajan (Visual Arts & Light Design), and Guru Yudhistir Nahak (Radha Prema Leela). GURU DEBAPRASAD YUVA PRATIVA AWARD 2025: Jayant Acharya, D. Priyanka, Sudipta Panda, and Aarya Nande (Odissi dance) GURU DEBAPRASAD SISHU PRATIVA AWARD 2025: Yuuri Iijima (Odissi dance).  On November 2, 2025 Guru Gopal Panda Odishi Academy presented GURU SINGHARI SAMMAN to Bankim Sethi (Odissi vocalist & composer), BHAGAWATI SMRUTI SAMMAN to Aruna Mohanty (Odissi dancer/guru), GURU GOPAL PANDA YUVA PRATIVA SAMMAN to Rahul Acharya (Odissi dancer and scholar), at Utkal Rangamanch, Bhubaneswar.  During the Indradhanush Festival by Sunaina held at Delhi, the GURU SAMMAN will be given to RAMA VAIDYANATHAN on Nov 5 and to RANI KHANAM on Nov 6, 2025.  The RR Sabha, Chennai, awarded the NRITHYA KALA RATHNA to Sailaja (Kuchipudi & BN dancer) and the NRITHYA YUVA KALA RATHNA to Harinie Jeevitha on October 23, 2025.  Eminent Bharatanatyam dancer, guru, researcher, author and social reformer, Dr. Padmini Chakraborty from the North Eastern Indian state of Tripura, passed away on October 13, 2025, aged 79. Dr. Padmini was the first person from Tripura to complete her Master's degree and PhD in Bharatanatyam. Her institution ‘Nrityangan’ was one of the first institutes where students of Tripura got the opportunity to learn Bharatanatyam. More info: Dr. Padmini Chakraborty - Anusha Chakraborty  The Lasya presented 22 VRINDRANI AWARDS & 5 PARTHA AWARDS on October 19, 2025 at the Museum Theater, Chennai. VRINDRANI AWARDS (Season 5) Akshaya Radhakrishnan, Bangalore - BN, Esha Mukherjee, Siliguri, West Bengal - Odissi, Kakali Bezbaruah, Guwahati - Sattriya, Dr. Sandhiya Soundararajan, Ambur - BN, Oishanee Bhattacharjee, Kolkata - Odissi, Udayasri Manoj, Mahabubabad, Telangana - Kuchipudi, Dweepjyoti Hajong, Guwahati - Sattriya, Savitha Karthik, Bengaluru – BN, Anagha Ajay, Chengannur, Kerala – Kuchipudi, Anangakili J, Pattambi, Kerala – BN, Adeena Ann Alex, Muvattupuzha, Kerala - Mohiniattam / multi-style, Anishritha Reddy Kunduru, Warangal, Telangana - Kuchipudi, Nithyashree M, Bengaluru – BN, Sundara Ramakoundinya Sreebhashtam, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh – Kuchipudi, Rithismita Deka, Assam – Sattriya, Jahnobi Gogoi, Assam – Sattriya, Kalakshetra Reshma Rajiv, Ernakulam, Kerala – BN, Hasini Panjala, Warangal, Telangana – Kuchipudi, Pandiyan Shanmugam, Kanchipuram – BN, Malavika M. Nair, Ernakulam, Kerala – Mohiniattam, Sai Vanshika Ethalapaka, Hyderabad – Kuchipudi, Abhirami R, Trivandrum, Kerala - Kuchipudi PARTHA AWARD (Season 2) Guru Anitha Guha, Chennai - Bharatanatyam, Himansee Katragadda – Kuchipudi, Harinie Jeevitha – BN, Prateeksha Kashi – Kuchipudi, Utthara Unni - BN  UK based artiste ARUNIMA KUMAR on October 16, 2025 became the first Kuchipudi dancer to be conferred King Charles III’s Honorary BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL (BEM), for services to Indian classical dance and community.  Aatmalaya Academy, Bangalore, with the support of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi presents its annual memorial awards at the 10th edition of Samarpanam on Nov 8, 2025 at Black Box Theatre, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Thrissur, Kerala. DEVIKA AND CHAKYAR RAJAN AWARD for Pothiyil Narayana Chakyar KOKILAM AND SHANKARI AWARD for Kunjaru AATMALAYA VAGGEYAKARA AWARD for PS Krishnamoorthy  Odissi dancer Guru RATIKANT MOHAPATRA received the NRUTYA GAURAV SAMMAN from Dance Image Academy on October 7, 2025 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar. GURU SAHADEV PADHI MEMORIAL AWARD was presented to Odissi Guru PAGALA SWAIN by Utkal Dance and Research Academy on October 5, 2025 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar. Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, government of Tamil Nadu gave the KALAIMAMANI AWARD to the following in an official function presided over by Tamil Nadu chief minister on October 11, 2025 for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 in Chennai. The Kalaimamani awardees received a gold medal and a certificate of honor. Some of the awardees include Vazhuvoor S Palaniappan Pillai, Amutha Dandapani, Priya Karthikeyan and Dhanasundari for Bharatanatyam, Jayapriya Vikraman for Kuchipudi and Swamimalai Suresh for sangeetham. Muthukannammal was named for the Balasaraswathi Award for Dance.  Bharatanatyam dancer Dr. Vijayambigai Indrakumar passed away on July 10, 2025 aged 81.  ADITI MANGALDAS was honored with the NRITYA SAMRAT AWARD at the Guru Wickramasinghe Nritya Samrat Mahotsav 2025, Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sept 14, 2025. This prestigious recognition is certified by ICCR Sri Lanka, Guru Wickramasinghe Gandharva Vidyalaya and Edgevin Vihan Company. She received this recognition from the legendary Guru Upeka Chitrasena. Trinetra Kala Kunja in association with Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture, Government of Odisha, presented the following awards at the 5th International Trinetra Award Festival at Bhanja Kala Mandap, Bhubaneswar on 20th September 2025. TRINETRA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2025 to Guru Harihara Mohanty (Odissi dance) and Guru Simanchal Dash (Odissi sangeet) INTERNATIONAL TRINETRA AWARD 2025 to Odissi dance Guru Dr. Sujata Mishra, Atasi Mishra (Odissi dance), Sangeeta Panda (Odissi singer & composer) and Sankarsan Mohapatra (social worker) INTERNATIONAL TRINETRA YUVA PRATIVA AWARD 2025 to four young Odissi dancers - Kishor Dalei, Jagyandatta Pradhan, Bijayalaxmi Ojha and Pratyasha Panigrahi. INTERNATIONAL TRINETRA SISHU PRATIVA AWARD 2025 to Souroshree Debnath (Kathak), Sai Durga Nayak, Priyanka Priyadarshini and Bijayalaxmi Shrichandan for Odissi dance.  Bharatanatyam Guru A SARADA HOFFMAN (14 June 1929 - 14 Sept 2025) popularly known as Chinna Sarada, is no more. She was 96. One of Rukmini Devi’s earliest students, she also trained under Pandanallur Chokkalingam Pillai and Dandayudhapani Pillai. She honed her music skills under maestros Mysore Vasudevacharya and MD Ramanathan. From Gurus Ambu Panicker and Chandu Panicker she received training in Kathakali. She completed her studies in 1947 and was appointed a teacher and lead dancer in Kalakshetra. Sarada Hoffman has rendered yeoman service to dance. Initially, she performed extensively with the Kalakshetra troupe and later concentrated on teaching and composing in Bharatanatyam style. She was the main strength behind Kalakshetra's training activity and is credited with maintaining the distinct quality of its technique and style. She was instrumental in standardising a Kalakshetra methodology for Bharatanatyam. A number of eminent Kalakshetra trained artistes like Yamini Krishnamurti, Adyar Lakshman, C.V. Chandrasekhar, Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan, Krishnaveni Lashmanan, Ambika Buch, Kala Ramesh, Savitri Jagannatha Rao, Balagopalan, Janardanan, Neila Satyalingam to name a few, had the benefit of training under her guidance. After her retirement as head of the dance department in 1989, she continued to serve Kalakshetra as an emeritus member of the faculty until 1996. She was living in the US with her son Krishna and daughter Geeta in the last few years of her life. Sarada Hoffman received many honors including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1996) and the first ‘Rukmini Devi Medal for Excellence in the Arts’ established by the Centre for Contemporary Culture, New Delhi, in 2001. Madras Music Academy honoured her with their coveted award of ‘Sangita Kala Acharya’.  During its 75th year celebrations, The Mylapore Academy presented the DHARMATMA: DR. V VAIDYASUBRAMANIA IYER CENTENARY AWARD OF EXCELLENCE to The Dhananjayans at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai on September 13, 2025.  Senior Kathak dancer, creator and educator, Guru RINA SINGHA passed away in Toronto on September 1, 2025 after a brief illness. She was born in Kolkata in 1937. She trained with Kathak master Shambu Maharaj (1910-1970) at Delhi's Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra. In 1960 Rina moved to London and toured Europe both as a soloist and with the internationally acclaimed company of Ram Gopal. She moved to Toronto in 1965. From 1971-1976 she taught dance theory and history at York University. With a Master’s in Education, she developed A Cultural Approach to Learning, a multiculturalism-focused educational program for school visits. In the 1970s, inspired by her daughter Vinita’s deafness, Rina was also one of Canada’s first dance artistes to run programming especially for deaf children. She founded two teaching institutions: the Kathak Institute of Toronto in 1982 and the Rina Singha Kathak Dance Organization in 1992. Coming to Canada in 1965 at a time when most non-mainstream dance was seen as ‘quaint’ or ‘exotic’, Singha made it her life’s mission to ensure that the beauty of her art form would be recognized and appreciated both for its depth of technique and its message. A solo Kathak performer for over 50 years, Rina has choreographed traditional and experimental works that reflect her life experiences and social issues related to life in Canada such as Songs From Exile Walls, Lullabye and Lament, Prithvi (an Earth Narrative) and full length Biblical works including The Seekers: from the Garden of Eden to the Walls of Jericho. She also collaborated with acclaimed choreographer Danny Grossman. Rina is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of Christian dance. Rina Singha’s career as a pioneer and trailblazer in many facets of dance has been recognized with numerous national and international awards including the Dance Ontario Award, the Pioneer Skills for Change du Maurier Award, the William Kilbourne Lifetime Achievement Award, the Grant Community Achievers 2008 award, the Internationally Juried Award for Excellence in Performing Arts for her Biblical dances, and the Canada Council Arts A Award for Choreography. On Sept 9, 2025 the following awards were given at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar, during the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award Festival conducted by Srjan. - The GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA AWARD 2025 with a cash award of Rs.1 lakh and a citation: Odissi dancer Madhavi Mudgal and Odissi vocalist Alekha Chandra Samal. - The GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA YUVA PRATIVA SAMMAN with a cash prize of Rs 25,000 and a citation: Shatabdi Mallik and Muralidhar Swain. - The GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA KALA SAMMAN 2025 with a cash award of Rs 50,000 and a citation: Arnab Bandyopadhyay and Raghunath Das from the field of Odissi dance. Ashish Mohan Khokar’s ATTENDANCE ANNUAL AWARDS 2025 will be given at Ravindra Kalakshetra on December 6, 2025 at Bangalore. MOHAN KHOKAR DANCE WRITING AWARD: Leela Venkataraman MAYA RAO LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Ratna Kumar RAM GOPAL AWARD FOR BEST MALE SOLOIST: Rahul Varshney UDAY SHANKAR CHOREOGRAPHY AWARD: Jigyasa Giri RUKMINI DEVI OVERALL CONTRIBUTION AWARD: Rama Vaidyanathan MK SAROJA TRUE GURU SHISHYA PARAMPARA AWARD: Pt Harish Gangani SPECIAL MENTION: Dr.‘Vandana’ Putanjani Purgus, Bhupinder Sachdev (Printways)  Kartik Fine Arts confers the title NRITHYA PEROLI on The Dhananjayans on 12th December 2025, the inaugural day of the dance seminar ‘Natya Darshan’ at Sathguru Gnanananda Hall (Main Hall) of Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai. The recognition carries a cash award of Rs.25000, a medallion with citation and a shawl.   Krishna Gana Sabha confers the NRITHYA CHOODAMANI award on acharya G NARENDRA at the inauguration of the 69th Margazhi Mela on December 12, 2025 at Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. Founder-Director of Avigna Dance Ensemble in Chennai, he trained at the Kalakshetra Foundation where he completed his Post Diploma in Bharatanatyam. He also worked as a faculty at Bharatakalanjali established by the Dhananjayans. SANGEETHA CHOODAMANI award goes to mridanga vidwan K.V. PRASAD.  Bharatanatyam dancer URMILA SATYANARAYANA is to receive the NRITYA KALANIDHI award from Madras Music Academy for 2025. MADAMBI SUBRAMANIA NAMBOODIRI will receive the TTK AWARD for Kathakali music.  Bharatanatyam Guru Padmini Ravi to receive the SHANTALA NATYA PRASHASTI by the Govt of Karnataka.  Sonal Mansingh to receive SRIMANTA SANKARDEVA AWARD, the highest honor given by govt of Assam once in 3 years.  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). Highlights ; Obituaries |
