Padmaja Suresh

🪔 About

Dr. Padmaja Suresh is a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, researcher, and author based in Bangalore, India. Born in Mumbai, she hails from a family of accomplished artists, including her father, Chakyar Koothu exponent Sri K.K. Rajan, and her great-grandfather, the legendary percussionist Maddalam Sri Vengichen. Padmaja Suresh began her Bharatanatyam training at the age of four under Guru Smt. Kalamandalam Rajalaxmi and continued her studies for over 16 years with Guru Sri K. Kalyanasundaram of the Sri Rajarajeshwari Bharatanatya Kalamandir. She further honed her skills under Guru Sri Mahalingam Pillai, Guru Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, and Guru Sri Kadirvelu, and completed a choreography diploma course under Guru Smt. Maya Rao. Academically, Dr. Padmaja Suresh holds degrees in Commerce and Law, a Master's in Philosophy, and a doctorate from Mysore University for her thesis on "The Science of Tantra and the Art of Natya: a correlative study". She is the founder and head of Aatmalaya, an academy in Bangalore dedicated to Bharatanatyam training, formerly known as Kalpataru Kala Vihar. Through Aatmalaya's charitable wing, Kalachaitanya, she has been instrumental in providing free dance training to over 3,000 underprivileged children in Bangalore and rural areas since the early 2000s. Her dance productions, which blend tradition with contemporary issues, have received critical acclaim globally. She has represented the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) on numerous concert tours to over 32 nations and has presented her research findings at prestigious international conferences, including UNESCO, World Sanskrit, Parliament of Religions, and SNA Natya Shastra seminars. Awards & Honours: Women's International Network Award (2010), Karnataka Kalashree (2021), Abhinaya Kalaratna, Abhinaya Saraswati, Sashwatam Kala Poshaka, Senior Fellowship.