Ananya Chatterjee

🪔 About

Ananya Chatterjee is a distinguished Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, and the founder of Kalakunj, a prominent Indian classical dance institution in the United Kingdom. She received her professional training in Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of Guru Dr. Thankamani Kutty. Chatterjee completed her Arangetram, her debut public performance, at the age of 14. Her dedication to the art form was recognized early in her career when she was awarded a Talent Scholarship from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi, India, which supported her advanced training from 1988 to 1994. In 1990, she was honored with The Best Dancer Award by the West Bengal State Music Academy, Kolkata. Before settling in the UK in 2000, Ananya Chatterjee was a regular performer and teacher of Bharatanatyam at Kalamandalam, a respected Centre for Performing Arts in Kolkata, India. She was also classified as a graded artist of Kolkata Television, performing extensively on stage and national television in India. Since moving to the UK, she has performed in various prestigious venues across England and Wales. In 2008, Chatterjee founded Kalakunj in Reading, Berkshire, an independent performing arts group dedicated to offering regular Bharatanatyam classes and outreach activities. Under her leadership, Kalakunj aims to preserve, promote, and share the rich cultural heritage of South Asian performing arts, conducting workshops in community centers and schools, and creating choreographic work for national festivals. Ananya Chatterjee holds a Licentiate status from the ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing), London, a higher-level teaching qualification that underscores her commitment to structured and disciplined dance education. Her teaching legacy is evident through the achievements of her students; notably, her student Adhya Shastry won the coveted BBC Young Dancer 2022 title. Kalakunj, under Chatterjee's stewardship, has also received the Pride of Reading Award for Cultural Contribution in 2022. Her students have been selected to perform at U. Dance National Festivals in 2023 and 2025, organized by One Dance UK. Awards & Honours: Talent Scholarship, The Best Dancer Award (1990), Pride of Reading Award for Cultural Contribution (2022).