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December 2020   Mumbai's Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha is one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural organizations in the country. Commemorating the golden jubilee year in 2002 they set up a national eminence award in Fine Arts. The award for 2020 was bestowed upon the Bharatanatyam couple The Dhananjayans with the title of SANGEETHA KALA VIBHUSHAN on 5th December 2020 on the inauguration of the Sabha's annual Art Festival. The award carries a citation, traditional Tanjavur bronze lamp, award memento and a purse for Rs.2.5 lakhs.  Madhya Pradesh Govt awarded Manipuri dancer BIMBAVATI DEVI with the RASHTRIYA KUMAR GANDHARV SAMMAN in the field of dance, in Bhopal.  SCL Rhythms Research Centre (Mumbai) awarded the BEST RHYTHMITE MAESTRO, the best teacher’s award in dance (Bharatanatyam) to Dr. Radhika Shurajit in December 2020. November 2020  Among the 2020 BESSIE nominees for Outstanding Performer is BIJAYINI SATPATHY for 'Kalpana - the world of Imagination' by Kelucharan Mohapatra and Surupa Sen, at A.R.T. New York Theatre for the Drive East Festival.  The Dance Studies Association awards the 2020 de la Torre Bueno® Prize to ANURIMA BANERJI's DANCING ODISSI: PARATOPIC PERFORMANCES OF GENDER AND STATE (Seagull Books/University of Chicago Press, 2019)  The 2020 de la Torre Bueno® First Book Special Citation reads: “HARI KRISHNAN’s ‘CELLULOID CLASSICISM: EARLY TAMIL CINEMA AND THE MAKING OF MODERN BHARATANATYAM’ is an invaluable addition to scholarship on Bharatanatyam in the crucial period between the 1930s and 1950s, offering an impeccably researched and well-argued revision of the common recounting of this phase of the dance’s history which has it that devadasis, if they kept dancing, went into film while Brahmin women dominated the stage, and discourses on caste and morality kept the two realms separate.”  Kapila Venu has been selected for the Dr. V.S SARMA ENDOWMENT given by Kerala Kalamandalam for 2020.  PUSHKALA GOPAL gets the MBE (Member of the British Empire), Arts & Culture, UK, for services to South Asian Dance, as announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2020.  UMA SATHYANARAYANAN to receive KERALA SANGEETA NATAKA ACADEMY award (State award) in the field of Bharatanatyam for the year 2019. October 2020  Centre for Indian Classical Dances presented JIVAN RATNA SAMMAN to veterans Yamini Krishnamurthy and Saroja Vaidyanathan on October 10, 2020 during its Kala Yatra festival. September 2020  Science Father's International Research Awards on New Science Inventions, NESIN 2020 Awards Certificate of Excellence goes to DR. MITUL SENGUPTA (Rhythmosaic School & Dance Institute/Movement Therapy, Kolkata) for BEST RESEARCH AWARD in recognition of her recently published academic article in tandfonline on dance movement therapy and autism.  MAV (Multicultural Arts Victoria) welcomes DR. PRIYA SRINIVASAN to the role of Lead, Strategic Projects, to help shape cultural equity with the sector, increase critical thinking about the value and labour of diverse artists and to join some powerful women of colour leading this change at MAV.  The GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA AWARD 2020 by Srjan, Bhubaneswar, was presented to Raj Gopal Mishra, veteran cinematographer for his invaluable contribution and lifetime achievements to the world of Odia Cinema. The GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA YUVA PRATIBHA SAMMAN was presented to Pravat Kumar Swain for Odissi dance and to Himansu Sekhar Swain for Odissi music acknowledging their dedication to their art forms. The awards were given on Sept 9, 2020 by Prof.Ganeshi Lal, Hon'ble Governor of Odisha. The Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award carries a respectable allocation of Rs. 1,00,000 and a citation. The Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Yuva Pratibha Samman has a cash prize of Rs. 25,000.  Photo by Jean-Louis Fernandez For their 2020 Yearbook, Akram Khan has been named by Tanz Magazine as Choreographer of the Year. July 2020  Every year on 8th of July, Sangeet Sattra organises the RASHESWAR SAIKIA BARBAYAN SATTRIYA AWARD ceremony, along with the annual festival of dance and music. Sangeet Sattra presented this year's award to Sonaram Sarmah Burhabhakat, a devoted bhakat of Mul Kamalabari Sattra, Jorhat, Dr. Nita Vidyarthi, eminent dance critic from Kolkata, and Guru Kalavati Devi, eminent Manipuri dancer. This year, Sangeet Sattra celebrated the same through its Facebook page where the award winners, scholars, dignitaries, and few eminent disciples of Guru Rasheswar Saikia Barbayan delivered their speeches followed by few cultural programs. June 2020  Geeva Arts Festival is committed to bringing Indian classical music and dance to the community of Louisville, KY, USA and its vicinity. It is run by the non-profit organization Guru Vandana Academy, which was established in 2012. Since then, the festival has brought over 100 artists to the annual three-day celebration. During this time, Thyagaraja Aradhana is hosted in conjunction with Pusthakam Ramaa's Sangeetha Sambhrama of Bangalore. The festival also honors one deserving artist with the GEEVA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. On June 27, 2020 Mohiniattam dancer Dr.Sunanda Nair received the award in an online function.  Apsaras Arts, Singapore, is a winner of THE STEWARDS OF SINGAPORE’S INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE AWARD, that aims to recognise practitioners (individual and groups) of intangible cultural heritage who are dedicated to the promotion and transmission of their practices, and have made outstanding contributions in their field. This award is conferred by the National Heritage Board. Each awardee will receive $5,000 in cash and be eligible to apply for a project grant of up to $20,000 to further fund their work. The winners were announced on June 4, 2020. March 2020  Siva Foundation, Chennai, founded by M.V.N. Murthy honoured The Dhananjayans with NAATYAKALAA SHIROMANI. Dancer/actor Hema Malini gave away the award in the presence of Dr. Nalli Kuppuswami Chetty on 1st March 2020 at Narada Gana Sabha. The other artistes honoured were Savithri Jagannatha Rao, Narthaki Nataraj, Chitra Visweswaran, Nandini Ramani, Prof A. Janardanan, Manju Bhargavi, vocalist Kanaka Durga. February 2020  Thyagayya TV organised Saint Thyagaraja Aradhana and achieved not 1 but 3 entries into the Guinness Book of World Records. Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala choreographed one of the Pancharatna Kirthanas, her favorite gem 'Endharo Mahanubhavulu.' Her disciples Vallabhi Annamalai and Shahana Kasi led the Bharatanatyam section and over 400+ aspiring dancers and teachers learnt and participated in the event. Guru Krishna Kumar led the Kuchipudi section. Versatile Sudha Ragunathan led the Carnatic band section. It was a mammoth task organised by vidwan Janardhan, which resulted in achieving 3 Guinness World Records - A mammoth classical feast. 1. The largest ever lesson in Music (700 participants) 2. The largest ever lesson in Bharatanatyam (436 participants) 3. The largest ever lesson in Kuchipudi (1183 participants) The event took place at Ramachandra Convention Centre, Chennai.  The Government of Madhya Pradesh gives award in the field of dance every year. KALIDAS SAMMAN was given to Kathak dancer/guru Uma Sharma and Sattriya dancer/guru Jatin Goswami for the year 2017 and 2018 on Feb 20, 2020 on the opening evening of the Khajuraho Dance Festival.  As part of Rasikapriya's 3 days art festival in Chennai, the Dhananjayans' 'Maadhavageetham' dance drama was presented on 16th February 2020. Rasikapriya honoured The Dhananjayans with their annual award titled RASIKAPRIYA KALARATNA.  At the Dhauli-Kalinga Festival in Bhubaneswar during Feb 10 - 12, 2020 Guru Mayadhar Raut received the RUCHI BUDDHA SAMMAN. The GANGADHAR PRADHAN SMRUTI SAMMAN 2019 went to Odissi vocalist Guru Ghanashyam Panda, dance Guru Aloka Kanungo, Dr. Devi Mishra for promoting Odissi in U.S.A along with Dr. Niranjan Tripathy and Dr. Swati Tripathy, and light designer Jaydev Das.   NARTHAKI, Global Portal for Indian Dance received the 1st CHINMAYA NAADA BINDU PURASKAR for dance, instituted by the Chinmaya Naada Bindu Gurukula in 2020, as a milestone to mark the 10th year of its Naada Bindu Festival. It is a citation award to recognize organizations / individuals for their enriching contributions and globally unifying initiatives in the field of Indian dance and music. “NARTHAKI has been chosen for being the first of its kind digital platform, creating a unifying space for Indian dance practitioners, dance-educators, event organizers, critics, scholars, and aspiring young students, from around the globe, and for consistently providing a healthy forum for free and bold debates and dialoguing, without fear of censorship, about issues that concern dancers and the dance community. This Citation Award also offers special recognition to Anita Ratnam as Narthaki’s founder and managing editor both for creating and managing Narthaki, as well as for her other vital contributions to the dance field, namely: 1) Reviving the lost temple dance tradition of ‘Kaisiki Natakam’ in the Azhagiya Nambi Temple in her ancestral town of Tirukurungudi, 2) Creating an annual mentorship and interdisciplinary training program for upcoming dancers from various parts of India, through Arangham Trust, 3) Opening up her home to present creatively unique performances through her Arangham Studio Series. Through this Citation Award, CNB also applauds Narthaki’s indefatigable editorial team, Lalitha Venkat (content editor) and Sumathi (webmaster) who, through their meticulous work, keep the dance world connected month after month. We wish NARTHAKI and its team the very best for its continued growth and service to the global Indian-dance community.” The award ceremony was held on February 7, 2020, on the opening day of the 10th Naada Bindu Festival, in the Sudharma Auditorium, Chinmaya Vibhooti Ashram, Kolwan, Maharashtra. January 2020 The prize winners of the Madras Music Academy dance festival 2020: Rama Vaidyanathan (senior category); Apoorva Jayaraman (sub-senior) and Dakshina Vaidyanathan Baghel (junior). On January 12, 2020 Nalanda Dance Research Centre presented Nalanda’s KANAKA NARTANA PURASKAAR to Ashish Khokar, Daksha Mashruwala, M.S. Gireesan, Swapnokalpa Dasgupta and Uma Dogra, at Kanaka Sabha, Nalanda Dance Research Centre, Mumbai. MADURA KALA PRAVEENA award was conferred upon Guru Anitha Guha by Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam, Madurai, on January 11, 2020.  NATYA MAYURI title was conferred on Bala Devi Chandrashekar by the Pontiff Poojya Shri Vidyadheesha Teertha Shripadura of Udupi Krishna Matha on 4th January 2020 at Udupi Krishna Matha.  The awardees of Music Academy this year. NRITYA KALANIDHI - Priyadarshini Govind, TTK AWARD - Rajkumar Bharathi SANGITA KALANIDHI - Dr S Sowmya, Sangita Kala Acharya - Seetha Narayanan and MS Sheela, TTK Award - Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman, Musicologist Award - Dr. Arati Rao N. Sangita Kalanidhi and other music awards were conferred at the Sadas of the Music festival on 1st January 2020. The Nritya Kalanidhi Award was presented at the inauguration of the Dance Festival on 3rd January 2020. Highlights - Yearwise listing    |