Padma Menon

🪔 About

Padma Menon, a distinguished Kuchipudi dancer and choreographer, was born in Kerala, India, in 1966. Her early dance journey began with Bharatanatyam in Hyderabad in 1973, followed by Kuchipudi training in 1974. She performed her Arangetram in both styles in 1975. In 1976, Menon moved to Madras (now Chennai) to further her Kuchipudi studies under the legendary Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam at the Kuchipudi Art Academy, where she also became a member of his esteemed dance company, performing extensively across India. In 1989, Padma Menon relocated to Australia, launching her international career with solo Kuchipudi performances. She founded the Kailash Dance Company in 1993, which was later renamed the Padma Menon Dance Theatre in 1996. This company, employing both Indian-Australian and Anglo-Australian dancers, toured India with cross-cultural productions. In 1996, she collaborated with Meryl Tankard to create "Rasa." Menon also established a school of Indian Dance in Canberra, which became Kailash Dance in 1991, and later reopened as Mudra Dance in Sydney in 1998. After leaving Canberra in 1998, Menon spent several years in Sydney and the Netherlands, where she pursued postgraduate studies in choreography at Rotterdam University. She achieved the distinction of becoming the first non-Western dancer to serve as a resident choreographer at the Korzo Theatre. Returning to Canberra in 2008, she founded the Mudra Centre for Dance. Here, she developed the "Dhuman technique," an innovative approach that integrates Laban Movement, yoga, modern Western dance, Kalaripayattu, and classical Indian dance. In 2017, she launched the "Moving Archetypes" program, which combines dance, yoga, Indian martial arts, and philosophy to empower women. Awards & Honours: Canberra Times Artist of the Year (1994).