Vasundhara Doraswamy

Vasundhara Doraswamy (born 1949) is the Founder/Director of Vasundhara Performing Arts Centre, Mysore (India). She is an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer and respected guru who has contributed to the art form for the past six decades at the highest level. She is also one of the pioneering disciples of late Shri Pattabhi Jois[1] in the discipline of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and has developed her own sub domain in Vasundhara Style.

Early life

Born in Moodabidri, in South Canara (Karnataka) to  P. Nagaraj and Smt.Varada Devi, Vasundhara made her acquaintance with Bharatanatyam at the tender age of 4 under the guidance of Muralidhar Rao[2] and won a gold medal at the age of 5 at the state level competition. which highlighted her potential and prompted her parents to seek out the supervision of Late ShriRajaratnamPillai the student of Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, who continued in the role of her Guru. Vasundhara, through her dedicated training claimed 1st rank in Vidwath Examination conducted by Karnataka Secondary Education Board and claimed three consecutive gold medals.[3] She was married to Late Sri H.S. Doraswamy[1] and has a son who lives in Australia with her daughter-in-law Meghala Hirasave continuing in her tradition. Meghala Hirasave has a well known school called art of vinyasa where she teaches students dance with great passion and dedication to the art form.

Career

In 1988 Vasundhara earned a Ph D for her study[4] on the correlation between Yoga and Bharatanatyam.[5]  She holds a post-graduate degree in Folklore and is a consummate exponent of the martial arts of ‘Tang-ta’ and ‘Kalarippayattu’[6] that vouches for her quest for multidisciplinary approach to dance[5] e. Dr Vasundhara has released a Treatise on the correlation of Yoga and Dance called "Natya Yoga Darshana".[7]

As for her choreographies, `Panchali` is noted for its singular adaptation of Yakshagana music (a form of folk music from the State of Karnataka) to Bharatanatyam.[5] Solo productions like Ganga Lahari, Ambe, Dakshayani,Panchali,[8] ShakuntaKunjana (literary masterpieces of Udyavara Madhava Acharya) and now Jyothi Shankar's Kshaatra Draupadi –with a strong female oriented theme have won acclaim.[9]

Dr Vasundhara was honoured with "Natya Rani Shantala" Award -The highest State Award for Dance by the Karnataka State Government[10] and the Rajyotsava Award [Karnataka State]. She is the youngest recipient of the "Karnataka Kala Tilak",[1] the prestigious award from the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy, to date and also the only recipient of "Aasthaana Nritya Ratna" from Shri Krishna Mutt, Udupi. She has also been honoured with "Chandana Award" by Doordarshan India, "Shreshta Kala Pracharak" from Padma Bushan Saroja Vaidyanathan (New Delhi),[11] " Kala Vipanchi" by Padma Vibushan Shri Balamurali Krishna (Chennai), Natya Jyothi [Australia] and Artist of the Millennium Award [USA], just to name a few.[12] 

An A-Graded Artist in Doordarshan[1]

She is the only Bharatanatyam danseuse to have been invited from India to perform for ‘WORLD PEACE’ conference in Paris under aegis of UNESCO before an audience of 2500 representing 137 countries.[13]

A globe-trotting dancer, Dr Vasundhara regularly performs and conducts workshops in Bharatanatyam and Yoga in different countries.[14] She has conducted summer camps for Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in the UK. She has travelled to Czech Republic, Poland, France,[15] Germany, United Kingdom and Austria representing the ICCR [Indian Council for Cultural Relations].[16] Vasundhara's current tours are primarily based in the US, Singapore, Paris and Australia.[17][18] Vasundhara is a visiting Guest Professor at Alabama University[19] in the US.[14] For the past 15+ years she has made Louisville her home every summer and has been conferred with the "Honorary Citizen of Louisville" & "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2012 by The Mayor of Louisville, USA recognizing her contribution to the Art field of Louisville.[20]

Vasundhara Performing Arts Centre

Vasundhara has established a performing arts centre in Mysore, which has been conducting 4 classic music and dance festivals[21] in Pallavotsava,[22][23] Natarajotsava,[24][25][26] Parangotsava and Chiguru Sange each year for the past 25 years.[27]

Vasundhara Style

Dr Vasundhara gained her initial training in Pandanallur Style of Bharathanatyam. Over the years, with her experience and creativity, she has been able to give it a unique footprint of her own,[28] which has been recognized by the dance fraternity and the art connoisseurs in her performances and that of her students.[29][30]

As a venerated Guru, Dr Vasundhara has been successful in generating (three generations) disciples who have imbibed her every move, look (Drishti) & nuances needed etc. in the way they perform.[31]

What inspired Dr Vasundhara to experiment with the boundaries of the classical dance of Bharatanatyam was supposed to have been her strong footing in Yoga[32] and experience of martial arts. Her use of singular hastas, alluring gaits, abhinaya which can communicate easily with the common man, modifications of the adavus, aharya, inimitable feather-touch footwork, all within the traditional framework, have led to a unique footprint that is today identified and recognized as "Vasundhara Style".[5]

References
  1. Nathan, Archana. "The sacred framework". The Hindu. The Hindu. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  2. Kamath, Ganesh. "Moodbidri's grand old building that served as court slinking into oblivion". daijiworld.com. daijiworld. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  3. Cavale, Sangeetha. "Yoga and the energy of dance". Times. Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2002.
  4. Malini, Nair. "Fit to dance". The Crest Edition. Times of India. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  5. "Tapping yoga for creativity". The Hindu. The Hindu Newspaper. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  6. Kumar, Sujit Chandra. "When the body becomes all eyes". Deccan Chronicle. DC. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  7. "An Invaluable treasure for Classical Dance". Big News Live. Big News Live. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  8. Probal, Gupta. "Aesthetic innovation within the traditional boundary". Nartaki. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  9. "Kshatra Draupadi - leaves audiences in awe". City Today. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  10. "Kannada Being Suppressed: URA" (Bangalore May Edition). Indian Express. The New Indian Express. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  11. "'Shreshta Kala Pracharak' award to Vasundhara". Bangalore First. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  12. Ganga, Madappa. "attendance Annual Dance Awards". Alliance Française de Bangalore. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  13. Paul, George. "VASUNDHARA MAKES HISTORY BY PERFORMING AT THE UNESCO". narthaki. Retrieved 1 January 2003.
  14. Dr, Krishnan. "Classical Bharatanatyam Dance Performance in Birmingham by Vasundhara Doraswamy". Parasi Herald. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  15. Vasundhara, Filliozat (29 June 2015). "Journée du Sanskrit" (PDF). Célébration du Bicentenaire (1815-2015): 31. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  16. "ICCR Programmes". Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Indian Council for Cultural Relations. 1 September 1998.
  17. Paritosh, Parasher. "Garba comes to Australia". Rediff. Retrieved 3 September 2001.
  18. "Mindfulness Practices for the Academic with Guru Dr. Vasundahra Doraswamy". University Of Alabama. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  19. "Dr. Vasundhara awarded Hon. Citizenship of Louisville, USA". Bangalore First. Bangalore First. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  20. Harish, Sudha. "Vasundharotsava: A memorable dance and music festival". Nartaki. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  21. Correspondent (16 September 2008). "Mysore ready for 'Pallavotsava'". The Hindu. KARNATAKA. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  22. "Dance festival enthrals people". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  23. Nagraj, V (24 May 2014). "Rich creative frames" (Friday Review). Hindu. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  24. "Natarajotsava". Nartaki. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  25. Raman, Priya (23 November 2016). "Proficiency is no longer a judging factor" (November 2016). Kalaparva. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  26. "A festival of dance and drama". The Hindu. Newspaper. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  27. "Bewitching Artistry". The Hindu. The Hindu. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  28. "Kinkiny dance festival". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  29. "Into the roots of dance". The Hindu. The Hindu. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  30. "Tiny tots on stage". KUTCHERI BUZZ. Kutcheribuzz.com. Retrieved 16 July 2004.
  31. Paul, G.S. "Vasundhara's Yoga demo".
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