Jetty Roels

🪔 About

Jetty Roels is a distinguished Belgian Bharatanatyam dancer, known for her significant contributions to Indian classical dance, particularly in Europe. Her extensive training includes Western dance forms such as Laban and Graham, mime under E. Decroux, and the Feldenkrais method. Roels embarked on her Bharatanatyam journey in Madras (now Chennai), India, where she specialized in the Dandayudhapani style, studying under Malathi Srinivasan. She marked her formal debut with an arangetram in Madras in 1981. Throughout her career, Roels has been a fervent promoter and educator of Indian classical dance. In 1969, the Belgische Stichting Roeping (Belgian Vocation Foundation) recognized her contributions to Bharatanatyam with an accolade. She established NATYAVEDA, a library dedicated to Indian classical dance, and organized a seminar on the subject in Gent in 1988. Her scholarly work includes co-authoring the book "Hasta, the Hand Positions in Bharata Natyam" with Indologist M. Muylaert. Roels has performed and taught Bharatanatyam globally, with engagements across Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Estonia, Austria, Morocco, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Japan, and Cambodia. She has also explored other Indian dance forms like Meitei, Seraikella-chau, Kathak, and Sapora, and studied dance traditions in various countries including Myanmar, Tibet, Korea, Bali, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Currently, she serves as a visiting professor of "Dance History" at the University of Gent. Since 1994, she has guided four students through their arangetrams, demonstrating her commitment to nurturing the next generation of Bharatanatyam dancers. Awards & Honours: Accolade from Belgische Stichting Roeping (Belgian Vocation Foundation) (1969).