Meenu Thakur

🪔 About

Meenu Thakur is a prominent Indian Kuchipudi dance exponent, guru, and choreographer, born on July 1, 1972, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. She initially trained in Kathak for five years at The Kathak Kendra, Delhi, before dedicating herself to the serious study of Kuchipudi, the traditional dance style of Andhra Pradesh. Her Kuchipudi training was under several renowned gurus, including Smt. Swapnasundari, Natyacharya Pasumurthy Sitaramaiya, and Padmashri Guru Jayaramarao and Vanashree Rao. Thakur is recognized for her distinctive Kuchipudi style, which blends elements of the “Purusha Sampradaya” (original male dance tradition) with its “Anuroopa” (female interpretation). She is also one of the few danseuses capable of performing Simhanandini, a challenging Kuchipudi piece where the dancer sketches a lion with their feet. An "A" graded artist of Doordarshan and an empanelled artist with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and SPIC MACAY, Meenu Thakur has performed extensively across India and in numerous countries including Bahrain, the U.K., Brazil, China, Japan, and South Africa. She founded "Suramya," an institution of performing arts in New Delhi in 1999, dedicated to the popularization and teaching of Kuchipudi. As a choreographer, she has created several Kuchipudi productions, notably choreographing the cultural program for the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in 2012. She is also a culture columnist for the monthly magazine YOUNG INDIA. Awards & Honours: SHINGAR MANI, Gold Medal for propagation of Kuchipudi, Scholarship in Kuchipudi, Junior Fellowship, Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar, Senior Fellowship, Atal Bihari Vajpayee National Award, Jayaprakash Narayan International Award, Rashtiya Gaurav Samman, Dr. Sarojini Naidu International Award for Women, Safari India South Asian Travel Award, Rashtriya Nirman Puraskar, Swami Vivekananda and Sister Margaret Award, Bharat Gaurav Samman, Nari Shakti Samman.