Information - Highlights 2022

December 2022

A Sri Lankan alumnus of The Dhananjayans' Bharata Kalanjali, Nirmala John obtained her Doctorate from the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Sri Lanka, for the recitation subject ‘Appropriation of Bharatanatyam dance drama into the Sri Lanka Cultural Milieu.’ The thesis was based on the question whether the act of taking Bharatanatyam by the Sri Lankan Tamils for the production of dance drama to fill the void created by the absence of a classical performing art of their own amounts to appropriation. Through intensive and incisive research comprising interviews mainly with Bharatanatyam dance celebrities, teachers and choreographers of both India and Sri Lanka, it was determined that the dance has come to stay in the country not only by heritage but also through evolution as the dance genre of the Tamils wherever they are.

From Dec 9, 2022 KK Gopalakrishnan has taken charge as the Director, South Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC), Thanjavur, of the Union Ministry of Culture. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana, Puducherry, Kerala, Lakshadweep and Andaman Nicobar Islands come under the SZCC. A cultural historian, author and passionate lover of art traditions, he sees this assignment as an opportunity to serve the deserving and underprivileged indigenous artistes fraternity of the zone - folk, tribal and ritual artists - and to disseminate such forms.

The Kerala State Government appointed dancer and social activist Mallika Sarabhai as Chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University for Art and Culture, on Dec 6, 2022.

Guru Kalamandalam Saraswathy received the SWARALAYA KALAMANDALAM RAMANKUTTY NAIR PURASKARAM for the year 2022 on 29th December 2022 at Palakkad at the annual Swaralaya Music and Dance Festival.

On December 21, 2022 Chennai Fine Arts presented the GOTTUVADYAM NARAYANA IYENGAR AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE to Dr.Vyjayanthimala Bali at Gokhale Sastri Institute, Chennai.

Gotipua Guru Jayakrushna Nayak of Konark Natya Mandap received the ODISHA SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI AWARD for 2022 on December 19, 2022 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar.

The Indian Fine Arts Society presented NATYA KALASIKHAMANI award to Geeta Chandran, on Dec 18, 2022 at its 90th Music Conference and Festival, in Chennai.

Bharat Kalachar presented the following awards on Dec 16, 2022 at its premises in Chennai.
ACHARYA KALA BHARATHI: Revathi Ramachandran & Lavanya Rajagopal
KALA SEVA BHARATHI: Aravinth Kumarasamy
YUVA KALA BHARATHI: Pranati Ramadorai, Akshaya Arunkumar, Sneha Mahesh, Vidya Arasu
ALL-ROUNDER AWARD: Sivasri Skanda Prasad
SPECIAL COMMENDATION: Krithika Shurajit, Jagyaseni Chatterjee, Swetha Prasad

Kartik Fine Arts presented the following awards on Dec 16, 2022 during its 48th year art festival in December in Chennai.
NATYA PEROLI: Chitra Visweswaran, NADANAMAMANI: Aishwarya Ananth Karthik, NATYA CHUDAR: Bhavya Kumaran, NADHA SWAROOPAM: Rajkumar Bharati

On Dec 15, 2022 Narada Gana Sabha presented NADABRAHMAM award to Guru Sudharani Raghupathy, at its premises in Chennai.

Sri Krishna Gana Sabha presented NRITHYA CHOODAMANI award to Vidhya Subramanian on the inauguration of the 66th Margazhi Mela on Dec 14, 2022 in Chennai.

Chitra Visweswaran was awarded the ANANYA NRITHYA PURASKAR 2022- Lifetime Achievement Award on 10th December 2022 at Bengaluru by Ananya GAH Cultural Academy as part of Ananya Nruthya Neerajana 2022. She received the NAVASHAKTHI AWARD by Sankara TV in October 2022

Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha presented the VANI KALA SUDHAKARA award to Bharatanatyam Guru Sheela Unnikrishnan on Dec 9, 2022 at Vani Mahal, Chennai.

On Dec 8, 2022 Brahma Gana Sabha presented NAATYA PADHMAM award to Bharatanatyam Guru Krishnakumari Narendran at RR Sabha Hall, Chennai.

Aravinth Kumarasamy, artistic director of Apsaras Arts, received this year’s CULTURAL MEDALLION, Singapore’s most prestigious cultural accolade from President Halimah Yacob at the Istana on December 5, 2022.

KALA PRADARSHINI GHANTASALA PURASKAR was awarded to Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy, Nandini Ramani, playback singer LR Eswari, violinist A Kanyakumari, drummer Shivamani, art director Thota Tharani and music director Thayanban, on December 4, 2022 at Music Academy, Chennai.

November 2022

Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan received the Golconda Festival's LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at Hyderabad in the last week of November 2022.

Prathiba Batley has been chosen as one of the 30 Dance/USA fellows for her work in addressing caste, gender, and religious hegemonies in Bharatanatyam. DFA is a program of Dance/USA, the national service organization for dance.

Sravan Selvan and Dhinesh Kumar have been selected as recipients of the ATTAKKALARI - INLAKS INDIA FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP 2022. Both the recipients have been performing since their childhood. While Sravan is a dancer, Dhinesh has a background in theatre. They are currently pursuing the Certificate Programme in Movement Arts and Pedagogy at Attakkalari.

Dr. Vyjayanthimala Bali was conferred the ADITYA VIKRAM BIRLA KALASHIKHAR PURASKAR by the Sangit Kala Kendra on November 20, 2022. Sattriya dancer Anwesa Mahanta of Assam and Kathakali exponent Kalamandalam Adithyan of Kerala received the ADITYA VIKRAM BIRLA KALAKIRAN PURASKAR.

Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra presented the SUMITRA CHARAT RAM AWARD for Lifetime Achievement - 2022 to Dr. Uma Sharma (Kathak exponent) on November 17, 2022 at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi.

Sapphire Creations presented SUBIJOYA AWARDS in loving memory of parents of the Festival Director Sudarshan Chakravorty to acclaimed dancers Shovana Narayan and Sharon Lowen, publisher Sanjay Arya and puppeteer Dadi Pudumjee at Stein Auditorium, New Delhi on November 4, 2022.

Sampradaya Dance Creations’ Founder and Artistic Director Lata Pada and Executive Director Jasmine Sawant were awarded the CULTURAL HERITAGE MISSISSAUGA AWARDS by The Credits for their invaluable contribution to performing arts in the City of Mississauga on November 3, 2022.

Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher Sujatha Srinivasan, director of Shri Kalaa Mandir, is one of the 2022 CLEVELAND ARTS PRIZE winners. The award function took place on November 2, 2022 at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Nimmy Raphel of Adishakti, Pondicherry and Sharanya Ramprakash of Bangalore received the SHANKAR NAG AWARD for 2022 with a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh each for their exceptional contribution to theater on November 1, 2022 at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival.

October 2022

Tridhara presented the following awards on Oct 30, 2022 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar, during the 16th Guru Debaprasad Award Festival.
GURU DEBAPRASAD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Dr. Sonal Mansingh
GURU DEBAPRASAD AWARD: Deepika Reddy (Kuchipudi) and Prerana Shrimali (Kathak)
GURU DEBAPRASAD PRATIVA AWARD: Tan Mei Mei (Kuala Lumpur, Odissi) and Sri Radhasyam Tarai (Ghuduki Nata/Sakhi Nata)
GURU DEBAPRASAD SISHU PRATIVA AWARD: Aishwaryaa Lakshmi Errisson (Kuala Lumpur) and Suhana Mishra (Puri)

Utkal Dance and Research Academy presented GURU SAHADEV PADHI MEMORIAL AWARD to Guru Snehaprava Samantaray during the 19th Kumar Utsav on October 11, 2022 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar.

The book THE 108 KARANA IN BHARATANATYAM DANCE THEATRE OF INDIA by Katia Légeret-Manochhaya has been published by Geuthner.

Drishtikon Dance Foundation announced the DR SUNIL KOTHARI AWARD FOR THE EMERGING ARTIST 2022. The jury members unanimously felt that RUPANSHI THAKRAR’s submission ‘Embracing The Future - ft. 90s Edition’ was the best and deserved the award citation along with the cash prize of Rs. 51000. Patrons and benefactors Vijay Vishwanath and Gita Iyer have supported the award and offered the prize money.
View award winning video
The jury members would also like to give a special mention to the works submitted by:
SHREEPUNYA MOHANTY / ‘Antarnada - The inner voice’: Second position
AVIKA BASSI / ‘Embracing the future’ & JASMINE YADAV / ‘The creature in me is not upright’: Both sharing the third position.
“My sincere gratitude to all the participants, who ventured to think out of the box and were courageous to take their regular dance practice beyond its usual parameters. To all of them, I would say - that it is the journey that is the most important,” says Aditi Mangaldas.

September 2022

Drishtikon Dance Foundation announced the constitution of DR. SUNIL KOTHARI AWARD FOR EMERGING ARTIST 2022 carrying a citation and purse of Rs.51,000. Says Aditi Mangaldas, “Sunil Bhai’s contribution to my dance journey is invaluable. A critical evaluation is immensely important for a dancer’s growth and evolution. Sunil Bhai’s valuable insights on watching my many performances, communicated with objectivity and backed by a reservoir of knowledge, added layers of meaning to my dance vocabulary. To commemorate his life and contribution, Drishtikon constituted an annual award for emerging artists in 2021.
I take this opportunity to thank the very distinguished international panel of judges (Aakash Odedra, Chitra Sundaram, Lata Pada, Dinesh Khanna, Malini Nair, Leo Spreksel, Dr.Suresh Desai and Rajeswari Ramachandran) who have kindly consented to give their time and knowledgeable inputs to this initiative.”

The New York Public Library of the Performing Arts has set up THE DR. SUNIL KOTHARI HONORARY LECTURE SERIES. The first presenter was Odissi dancer Bijayini Satpathy who addressed the history of Odissi on Sept 19, 2022.

On Sept 15, 2022 Bharatanatyam exponent and research scholar Dr. Sandhya Purecha (Director, Sri Sri Centre for Advanced Research in Bharatanatyam and Principal, Bharata College of Fine Arts and Culture) was appointed as Chairman, Sangeet Natak Akademi. She will hold office for a term of five years.

Apsaras Arts Dance Company presented the IPAC SINGAPORE ANNUAL AWARDS for 2021 and 2022 on 11th September 2022 at Avai at Apsaras Arts.
- NATYA AACHAARYAMANI for 2022: Lakshmi Krishnan, Faculty of Temple of Fine Arts Singapore
- BHARATA KALA MANI for 2021: Anjana Anand of Sahrdaya Arts-Foundation
- BHARATA KALA MANI for 2022: Seema Hari Kumar and Deva Priya Appan of Apsaras Arts Dance Company

On September 11, 2022 Vyjayanthi Kashi received the DR.SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN AWARD 2022 from BJP Samartak Manch Karnataka.

Srjan conferred the Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra awards for 2022 on September 9, 2022 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar.
The GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA AWARD: Guru Ramhari Das (music), and Guru Niranjan Rout (dance)
GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA YUVA PRATIVA SAMMAN: Geetanjali Acharya (Odissi dance) and Matruprasad Das (Odissi music)

On 4th September 2022, the Sangeetha Nritya Bharathi Academy, Bangalore, bestowed on Vyjayanthi Kashi, the KALA SHRESHTHA title on completion of 50 years of their institute headed by Hemanth Aradhya and Padma Hemanth.

August 2022

The Best Dancer award in the Spirit of Youth Dance Festival held in August 2022 at Madras Music Academy goes to Shabin Bright, disciple of Divyasena. The 2nd Best Dancer award goes to Bhavya Kumaran, disciple of Sowmya Kumaran. The Best Dance Guru award (as guru of the best dancer in the Spirit of Youth Dance Festival) goes to Divyasena.

Mumbai based dance critic Vijay Shanker was bestowed with the WOW ICONIC AWARD by WOW Digital Media at the Nehru Science Centre auditorium in Mumbai on August 7, 2022. The WOW Iconic Award is presented to outstanding personalities in different fields. Vijay Shanker is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, dance teacher, choreographer, actor and arts critic for nearly four decades.

S.Aparna, a Chartered Accountant from Mylapore and one of the ‘Mylapore Trio,’ was honoured with the PUDHUMAI PENN Award on 5th August 2022, held at Tanishq showroom, Cathedral Road Branch, Chennai. The award carries a citation and a silver medal. She was one among the twelve women from various spectrums selected for the award from among ten thousand nominations across Tamilnadu.

July 2022

Kuchipudi dancer Deepika Reddy is appointed as the new chairperson of state Sangeet Natak Akademi of Telangana, according to an official press release on July 25, 2022.

Bharata Kalanjali’s new book OFF STAGE, a visual voyage showcasing the life and artistry of Shanta and VP Dhananjayan, was released by Jug Suraiyya (author and columnist, former Editor, The Times of India) on July 23, 2022 at Chennai. “Offstage” represents a culmination of 3 years’ worth of brainstorming, labour and love and presents to the readers the couple’s roles as dancers, teachers and educators over the years. The visual narratives for the book have been done by three different artists - Satwik Gade, Alamelu Annhamalai, Rohit Bhasi.
Commissioned by: C. P. Satyajit, Concept and Idea: Anupama Satyajit
For queries regarding the book: office@bharatakalanjali.in / +91 88257 00498

Donovan Roebert’s book ‘WESTERN TEXTS ON INDIAN DANCE - AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE FROM 1298-1930’ contains more than 250 large extracts from a variety of writers and commentators on dance throughout India for the period indicated. It also has a postscript with relevant texts from 1930 to 1947, when the temple and public dancers were outlawed. Many of the texts presented have been translated from the original German, Dutch, and French sources, and that, too, makes available writings that would usually be inaccessible to readers not familiar with these languages. Released on July 21, 2022 the book is available in hardcover and as an e-book.

‘BREAKING FREE’ is a novel by VAASANTHI published by Harper Perennial India about the varied and turbulent world of devadasis, bringing the complexities of their history to life. The English translation is by N. Kalyan Raman.

RASHESWAR SAIKIA BARBAYAN SATTRIYA AWARD ceremony (14th edition) for 2020 and 2022 took place on 8th of July, at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, Guwahati. For 2022, eminent art scholar Dr. Pradip Jyoti Mahanta and Sattriya exponent Sharodi Saikia were conferred the award. The awardees for 2020 are eminent art critic Dr. Nita Vidyarthi, Manipuri dance exponent Kalavati Devi and Vaishnavite saint of Sri Sri Mul Kamalabari Sattra, Sonaram Sarma Burhabhakat.

‘MUTHULAKSHMI REDDY: A TRAILBLAZER IN SURGERY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS,’ a biography authored by V.R. DEVIKA and published by Niyogi Books was released on July 2, 2022 at Kalakshetra, Chennai.

Filmmaker R.V. Ramani received the national award as best director of non-feature film ‘Oh! That's Bhanu!’ that explores the life of dancer-theatre artiste Bhanumathi who suffers from memory loss.

Eminent theatre director ONG KENG SEN of Singapore has been conferred Honorary Doctorate by the University of Central London.

June 2022

In 1981, RAMYA HARISHANKAR and her husband HARISH MURTHY moved from Chennai to Irvine, CA. Since their early days in Irvine, with the support of the community, they have organized performances, festivals, symposiums featuring local, national, and international artistes, collaborating with local presenters, universities, and community organizations. Ramya and Harish were recognized as ‘Distinguished citizens’ with a plaque on Irvine’s Wall of Recognition on June 14, 2022. Since its inception in 2006, more than 400 individuals and organizations have been included on the Wall.

Kadam director and Pulse editor Sanjeevini Dutta has been awarded an MBE (Members of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's birthday honours of 2022. Sanjeevini has led the Luton-based company for three decades.

Veteran Kathak Guru Kumudini Lakhia is honoured with the GURU GOPINATH NATIONAL AWARD from the Government of Kerala.

Belgian and Moroccan choreographer, dancer, and director SIDI LARBI CHERKAOUI is the recipient of the 2022 JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE AWARD. Cherkaoui received this award and presented a new work at the season-opening Gala on June 18, 2022.

Sarasalaya Chennai presented the KJ SARASA MEMORIAL AWARD to DV Kanakadurga (vocalist for Bharatanatyam & Kuchipudi), Dr.Ananda Shankar Jayant and Kuttalam M Selvan (nattuvanar) on June 17, 2022 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai.

The following annual awards were given by ABHAI on June 12, 2022 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai.
For 2021: NATYA KALANIDHI - Chitra Visweswaran, NRITYA PERUNJOTHI - Geeta Chandran, GANDHARVA NIPUNA - Saraswati Sankaranarayanan, NARTAKA NIPUNA - V Balagurunathan, Special achievement award NATYA SAADHANAI CHEMMAL - Madurai R Muralidharan
For 2022: NATYA KALANIDHI - Lakshmi Vishwanathan, NRITYA PERUNJOTHI – Uma Anand / Rangashree Srinivas, GANDHARVA NIPUNA – K Hariprasad, NARTAKA NIPUNA – Chinnamannur J Krishnakumar / Aniruddha Knight, Special award in folk arts NAATAAR KALAI KON – Purisai K Sambandham.

The Bharatanatyam duo Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan received the NAATYA SELVAM award on June 6, 2022 from Muthamizh Peravai Arakattalai (founded by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, erstwhile Chief Minister of Tamilnadu) at the inauguration of its 41st annual music festival in Chennai.

May 2022

The KALASAGAR AWARDS for excellence in traditional performing arts were presented on May 28, 2022 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval, legendary Kathakali maestro and the founder of Kalasagar.
KATHAKALI: Kalamandalam Soman (vesham/actor), Sadanam Sivadas (music), Kalabharathi Unnikrishnan (chenda/percussion), Kalanilayam Prakasan (maddalam/percussion), Purushothaman Chingoli (chutty, make-up)
Arun R Kumar (Ottenthullal), Sreeraj Killikkurussimangalam (Chakyarkoothu), Kalamandalam Sindhu (Koodiyattam), Anupama Menon (Mohiniyattam), Sowmya Balagopal (Bharatanatyam),
Sheeba Sounder Raj (Kuchipudi), Mattanur Sreeraj (Thayambaka)
PANCHAVADYAM: Kongad Mohanan (thimila), Chalakudy Raman Nambeesan (maddalam), Nayarambalam Nandakumar Marar (edakka), Kattukulam Balakrishnan (ilathalam)
Keralassery Kuttan (kombu)

NATYA RATNA PURASKARAM instituted by Vivekananda Cultural Institute was given to Margi Vijayakumar on 15 May 2022 at Thiruvananthapuram.

DR. KANAK RELE's book ME & MY MOHINI ATTAM was released in Mumbai on May 7, 2022 at Nalanda Nrityakala Mahavidyalaya.

DR MAYA RAO WOMEN PIONEER AWARD was given to Kathak Guru Chitra Venugopal on May 3, 2022 at Bangalore.

April 2022

The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University (CBA), an international research institute for scholars and artists of ballet and its related arts and sciences, announced the four fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year which includes dance scholar Anurima Banerji. She is Associate Professor and current Graduate Vice Chair in the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at University of California Los Angeles. Her research principally concerns critical historicizations of Indian dance and its relationship to the state. She is the author of the monograph 'Dancing Odissi: Paratopic Performances of Gender and State.'

KARTIK AWARD OF EXCELLENCE was conferred on Delhi based Bharatanatyam dancer/teacher Kalaivani Rajmohan during the sabha's 47th anniversary celebrations in Chennai.

Geeta Chandran's Natya Vriksha conferred the 3rd NATYA VRIKSHA LIFETIME ACHIEVMENT AWARD on renowned make-up artist Brij Mohan Gupta on April 22, 2022 in New Delhi.

DIVA OF THE DECADE is an award ceremony that honors women from 5 decades who have broken boundaries and have set an example in the fields of cinema, television, music, sports, literature & performing arts, healthcare & education and entrepreneurship. Bharath Medical College & Hospital presented the award to SHANTA DHANANJAYAN for her lifetime achievement in the performing arts, on April 10, 2022 at Leela Palace, Chennai.

Sonal Mansingh, Jatin Goswami, K.Kalyanasundaram Pillai, Radha Sridhar, Pasumurthy Ramalinga Sastry, Parameswaran Kuttan Chakkiyar, Surupa Sen, Gopika Varma

The General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi at its meeting held on 26 June 2019 at Guwahati, Assam unanimously elected eminent personalities in the field of performing arts. The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of Rupees three lakh and Akademi Award carries Rupees one lakh besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram. The awards ceremony was held on April 9, 2022 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
-AKADEMI RATNA / AKADEMI FELLOW
Zakir Hussain, Sonal Mansingh, Jatin Goswami and K.Kalyanasundaram Pillai, for Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow.
-AKADEMI PURASKAR
The General Council also selected 44 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 for the year 2018. These 44 artists include three joint awards.
Dance: nine eminent artists have been selected for the Akademi Awards 2018, namely, Radha Sridhar for Bharatanatyam, Ishira & Maulik Shah (Joint Award) for Kathak, Akham Lakshmi Devi for Manipuri, Pasumurthy Ramalinga Sastry for Kuchipudi, Surupa Sen for Odissi, Tankeswar Hazarika Borbayan for Sattriya, Gopika Varma for Mohiniattam, Tapan Kumar Pattanayak for Chhau, Deepak Mazumdar for Contemporary Dance.
Theatre: Bhagawat A.S.Nanjappa -Yakshagana, A.M.Parameswaran Kuttan Chakkiyar -Kutiyattam.
Folk, puppetry: Anupama Hoskere, Puppetry (String), Karnataka, Hem Chandra Goswami, Mask Making, Assam.
Overall Contribution/Scholarship in the Performing Arts: Diwan Singh Bajeli and Puru Dadhich

March 2022

Tridhara Bhubaneswar conferred the GURU DEBAPRASAD AWARD for 2021 on Ramli Ibrahim (Odissi), Saswati Sen (Kathak), Sadashiv Pradhan (Mayurbhanj Chhau) on March 29, 2022 at Rabindra Mandap, Bhubaneswar. The GURU DEBAPRASAD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD was given to flute maestro Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia. The GURU DEBAPRASAD YUVA PRATIVA SAMMAN for 2021 went to Kaori Naka (Odissi), Alok Bishoyi (Saki Nata) and G.Nageswari (Odissi).

Geeta Chandran received the ISAW WOMEN ACHIEVER’S AWARD from ISAW (Institute of South Asian Women) in Delhi on March 28, 2022.

BUDDHA SAMMAN instituted by Orissa Dance Academy since last 15 years, goes to an eminent art personality from the field of creative and performing arts and carries a citation, anga vastra and cash award of Rs. 1 lakh. This year Professor Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi, eminent Odissi dancer and former Vice-Chancellor, Sambalpur University, received this award during the Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav, Bhubaneswar on March 24, 2022.

GURU GANGADHAR PRADHAN SMRUTI SAMMAN instituted by Orissa Dance Academy in memory of its founder Guru Gangadhar Pradhan was given to four eminent personalities of different fields during the Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav on March 22,2022, Bhubaneswar. The awardees are Odissi Guru Durgacharan Ranbir, music composer and singer Laxmikanta Palit, Sanskrit scholar Pt. Nityananda Mishra, and Somdutt Behura, promoter of Odissi dance in USA. This award carries a citation, anga vastra and cash award of Rs. 25,000.

The President of India bestowed PADMA SHRI on duo Nalini-Kamalini Asthana (Kathak), R Muthukannammal (Sadir), Padmaja Reddy (Kuchipudi) at a special function at Rashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi.
Muthukannammal is the only living Sadir dance exponent in India and serves as a repository of knowledge about the history of Bharatanatyam. Many of those who received the Padma awards on March 21, 2022 from the President of India were "unsung heroes" including 125-year-old yoga practitioner Swami Sivananda. He is the oldest man to be conferred the Padma Shri award ever.
Nalini-Kamalini Asthana and Padmaja Reddy received the award on March 28, 2022.

The Fine Arts Society, celebrating its diamond jubilee, is a dynamic organization, always striving to keep the art scene vibrant. One of the initiatives has been the institution of the FAS STREE RATNA Award to honour women achievers for their dedication and contribution in various domains. Shanta Dhananjayan is one of the awardees. This year, the award ceremony was held on 12th March 2022 at the Sivaswamy Auditorium, Chembur, Mumbai.

Dr.Rathna Kumar received the WOMEN ACHIEVEMENT AWARD from Bharathi Kalai Manram, Houston, TX on March 8, 2022.

WUD (World University of Design) conferred CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARD on Sharon Lowen on March 5, 2022 at Delhi.

February 2022

South Asian Women Network and Allies - SAWNAA Award for South Asian Women in Art Leadership goes to Dr.Priya Srinivasan. She is the co-Artistic Director of Sangam: Performing Arts Platform and Festival of Diaspora which she founded in 2019 as a corrective to the lack of opportunities for artists of colour in Melbourne.

KALIDAS SAMMAN was conferred by the Cultural Ministry of Madhya Pradesh on February 20, 2022 on Shanta and VP Dhananjayan (Chennai) for 2020-2021 and Sunaina Hazarilal (Mumbai) for 2019-2020 during the Khajuraho Dance Festival. It carries a purse of Rs.2 lakhs.

THE NANGIARKOOTHU ARTIST directed by Deepa Nair is a 12 min documentary dance portrait of Aparna Nangiar that had its New York premiere on Feb 11, 2022 at the 50th Dance on Camera Festival.

January 2022

2022 YOUNG ARTS WINNERS IN DANCE include Odissi dancer Malavika Singh, a disciple of Bijayini Satpathy; Kathak dancer Reva Srivastava, disciple of Anupama Srivastava. These dancers - all between the ages of 15 and 18 and/or in grades 10 through 12 - were selected for this honor through an anonymous adjudication process.

New York City will be naming a street after JACQUES D’AMBOISE. Jacques d’Amboise Place will have its permanent home on the northwest corner of West 64th Street and Columbus Avenue at Lincoln Center. The intersection is across the plaza from The David H Koch Theatre (formerly The New York State Theater) where Jacques performed for 35 years with the New York City Ballet.

Bharatanatyam dancer ZAKIR HUSSAIN has been appointed as the Adviser for the Music Schools run by the Department of Art and Culture in Tamilnadu.

Bijayini Satpathy is the MetLiveArts Artist in Residence at the @metmuseum in 2022. During her residency, Satpathy will collaborate with a range of artists and Met curators and explore unexpected areas of the Museum's collection, with a special focus on Modern and Contemporary Art.

Kerala Kalamandalam announces its awards for 2020.
Koodiyattam maestro Ammannur Parameswaran (Kuttan) Chakyar and Kathakali Sangeetham maestro Cherthala Thankappa Panicker won the FELLOWSHIPS that carry a cash award of Rs.50,000, citation and silk shawl.
The KERALA KALAMANDALAM AWARD that carries a purse of Rs.30,000 and citation goes to: Margi Vijayakumar (Kathakali vesham); Kalamandalam KP Achuthan (Kathakali sangeetham); Kalamandalam Rajan (chenda); Kalamandalam Achutha Warrier (maddalam); Appunni Tharakan (chutti); Sarojini Nangiyaramma (Koodiyattam); Pallavi Krishnan (Mohiniyattam); Kunjan Smarakam Shankaranarayan (Thullal); NK Madhusoodhanan (mridangam); Madhathilathu Govindankutty Nair (ASN Nambeesan Puraskaram for panchavadyam).
Critic KB Raj Anand gets the MKK Nair Samagra Sambhavana Puraskaram (overall contribution); Kalamandalam Aiswarya KA gets the Yuva Prathiba Award. Winners of various endowments include Adv. CK Narayanan Namboodiri (Mukundaraja Smrithi Puraskaram); Sumitha Nair (Kalaratnam Endowment); Kalamandalam Krishnendu (Painkulam Ramachakyar Samraka Puraskaram); Maruthorvattam Kannan (Vadakkan Kannan Nair Asan Smruthi Puraskaram); Karivalloor Ratnakumar (KS Divakaran Nair Smaraka Sougandikam Puraskaram); Kalamandalam Anilkumar P (VS Sharma Endowment); Nedumpalli Rammohan (Bhagavathar Kunjunni Thampuran Endowment); Kalamandalam Gopinatha Prabha (Killimangalam Vasudevan Namboodirippad Smaraka Award); and Janaka Shankar P (Brahmasree Pakaravur Chithran Namboodirippad Birth Centenary Memorial Endowment).

The KARNATAKA KALASHREE AWARD for 2021 - 2022 was conferred by Sangeeta Nrithya Academy, Govt of Karnataka, on D Keshava (based in Switzerland), Padmaja Suresh, Kamalaksha Achar, Vidya Ravishankar and Balasubramanya Sharma (vocal for dance) on January 14, 2022 at Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bengaluru.

KARNATAKA KALASHREE, the State's highest honour for dance, was awarded by Karnataka Sangeeta Nrithya Academy for 2020 - 2021to MADHU NATARAJ and PRAVEEN KUMAR for their contributions to dance, on January 14, 2022 at the Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bengaluru.

Highlights - Yearwise listing