Chitra Devi

🪔 About

Chitra Visweswaran is a highly acclaimed Indian Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, and teacher, renowned for her profound contributions to the art form. Her journey in dance began at the tender age of three, with her mother, Rukmini Padmanabhan, serving as her first guru. She also received early training in Western Classical Ballet in London and later in Manipuri and Kathak in Calcutta. At ten, she commenced intensive Bharatanatyam training under Smt. T.A. Rajalakshmi in Calcutta for nearly a decade, performing her Arangetram within ten months. Demonstrating prodigious talent, she choreographed her first dance at eleven and a complex Varnam at thirteen. After completing her B.A. (Hons.) in English from Calcutta University, she was awarded a prestigious National Scholarship for advanced Bharatanatyam studies by the Government of India in 1970. She then spent four formative years under the tutelage of the legendary Vazhuvoor Ramaiyya Pillai in Chennai, which significantly broadened her aesthetic vision. In 1975, Chitra Visweswaran established the "Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts" (CAPA) in Chennai, which has since become a premier institution with satellite centers globally, led by her former students. She is celebrated for her innovative choreographies, including major dance dramas like 'Devi Ashta Rasa Malika', 'Panchali', and 'Dasavatharam'. Beyond performing and teaching, she holds influential positions, serving as a Trustee of the India Foundation for the Arts, a member of the Government of India's scholarship selection committee for Bharatanatyam, and a member of the General Council and Executive Board of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi. She also occupied the Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Fine Arts at the University of Madras and contributes to RASA, an organization utilizing dance and music therapy for children with learning disabilities. Awards & Honours: Nritya Choodamani (1980), Kalaimamani (1982), Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Nritya Vilas (1988), Padma Shri (1992), Manav Sewa Puraskar (Lok Shree Award) (1992), Mahila Shiromani, Sthree Ratna, Natanamani (1999), Japan Foundation Special Guest (2000), Natya Kala Acharya, For the Sake of Honour - Rotary Award, Nritya Ratnakara, Yami Award, Honorary citizenship of the City of Bourges, France.