Lakshmi VN
Blessed
with natural inborn artistic talent, Ms. Lakshmi VN had the privilege of opting
for art in its dance form. She started learning Kathak at the tender age of
eight under Smt. Renuka Desai. The famous Kathak exponent Shri Vijay Shankar
Singh took under his wings and gave her rigourous advanced training in
Kathak. She performed the ‘Guru Deeksha’ on 14th August 1987 at
Bhatkhande Sangeet Mahavidhyalaya, Jabalpur and passed the graduate level
diploma ‘ Sangit Prabhakar’ from Prayag Sangit Samiti, Allahabad.
Besides
winning several awards for her dancing proficiency, she is a regular participant
in prestigious dance festivals as the Andhra Pradesh State Youth Fest and so on.
She is graded by the Doordarshan.
To say about Bharathanatyam, she made an auspicious
start under the able guidance of late Bharathanatyam legend Padmashree Vazhuvoor
Ramiah Pillai and later under his illustrious son Kalaimamani Vazhuvoor R.
Samraj and participated in various programmes conducted Vazhuvoor Classical
Bharathanatya Art Centre, Chennai. She continued to absorb the Vazhuvoor style
under the able guidance of Guru Smt. Kanchana Janardhanan. Her Arangetram took
place on 31st August 1993 at Music Academy under her able tutelage.
She has participated in all major dance festivals in India. Further, she is
trained in the intricacies of classical music its construction and calculations
in the laya (rhythm) by the able guru Shri P.R. Venkata Subramanian and she is
fortunate to obtain rigourous training in Nattuvangam and advanced training in
Bharathanatyam by the famous Natyacharya Udupi Shri. Laxminarayan and Kuchipudi
by Ambika Kameshwar.
Her thirst for pursuing the art in all its glory made her a good compere,
and an excellent make-up artiste too. She is a dance teacher by profession and
an art critic too.
Stationed in Chennai, India, this multi faceted personality is also the
Director of ‘JATHISWARAALAYA Academy of Dance and Music’ where she imparts
dance education to many deserving Kathak and Bharathanatyam aspirants. Her
institution with the help of knowledgeable professors imparts training in
Classical Carnatic Music Vocal and the same on Keyboard. Moreover she is the
Honarary Secretary of the service-oriented organisation called NATYA, involved
in encouraging and staging up-coming talents. Jathiswaraalaya has recently
launched its Computer Designing and Printing Wing and is on its way to open the
Dance and Music Education and Research Department to help young talents. Lakshmi
can be contacted in her email: [email protected].
Her postal address is as follows:
Old No.3, New No. 5, Tyagarajapuram, Mylapore, Chennai – 600 004,
S. India