Lavanya Sankar

🪔 About

Lavanya Sankar is a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, guru, nattuvannar, and choreographer, primarily known for her adherence to the Vazhuvoor style. Born on July 14, 1978, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, she began her Bharatanatyam training at the age of four under the tutelage of the esteemed Guru Kalaimamani Smt. K.J. Sarasa of Sarasalaya. She also received training in Nattuvangam and vocal music. Sankar had her Arangetram at the age of seven and has since performed extensively, with over a thousand performances at prestigious dance festivals and Sabhas across India and internationally, including the Apna Utsav in New Delhi in 1986, the International Week Celebration in Japan in 2000, and the BRICS International Conference in New Delhi in 2013. In 2004, Lavanya Sankar founded the Abhyasa Academy of Classical Dance in Coimbatore, where she imparts rigorous training in Bharatanatyam. The academy has three branches in Coimbatore and currently trains over 200 students, with more than twenty having completed their Arangetrams. She is an A-grade artist for Doordarshan National and an empanelled artist for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Sankar is also an imaginative choreographer of Bharatanatyam ballets and productions, and has served as a television hostess for a leading Tamil TV network. Her contributions to the art form have been recognized with numerous accolades, including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu. Awards & Honours: Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2013), Balasaraswathi Endowment Prize (1999), Yuva Kala Bharathi (2002), Nadanamamani (2010), Kalaimamani (2018), Scholarship.