Parshwanath Upadhye

🪔 About

Parshwanath Upadhye, born on March 26, 1982, in Belgaum (now Belagavi), Karnataka, India, is a distinguished Indian classical dancer, choreographer, and teacher specializing in Bharatanatyam. Raised in a spiritually oriented household by his parents, Shantinath and Prema Upadhye, who were Jain priests, he was exposed to cultural discipline from a young age. [2] Upadhye commenced his Bharatanatyam training at the age of eight under Guru Shri Ravindra Sharma of Belgaum, studying the traditional Mysore style for 15 years. [1, 6] He completed his Arangetram in 1996 and furthered his academic qualifications with Visharad (1993-94) and Alankaara (2000-2003) degrees in Bharatanatyam from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal. [1, 6] He also achieved the Vidwath Examination from the Karnataka Secondary Education Board. [1] His early influences include a 'Karanas' workshop with Dr. Padma Subramanyam in 1996. [1] After moving to Bengaluru, Upadhye continued his advanced training under the acclaimed dancer duo Shri Kiran Subramanyam and Smt. Sandhya Kiran at Rasika Academy of Performing Arts since 2002. [1, 3, 5, 6] He currently receives ongoing mentorship from Padmashri Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy. [1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 13] An empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and a top-graded artist of Bangalore Doordarshan Kendra, Upadhye has performed extensively across India and internationally. [1, 3, 5, 7, 11] In 1996, he established the Sharada Sangeetha Nrithya Academy in Belgaum, serving as its director until 2000. [1, 5] In 2010, he founded the Upadhye School of Dance in Bangalore, where he serves as Director, Chief Choreographer, and Performer, mentoring over 1,000 students globally through in-person and online classes. [1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 13] Alongside his wife, Shruti Gopal, he co-founded the Punyah Dance Company in 2012, through which he choreographs, directs, and presents full-length productions such as Hara, Sat-gati, Paartha, Punyah Krishna, Abha, and Suta. [1, 2, 6, 7] Upadhye is also involved in building a Gurukulam, a residential dance school, in Chikale, near his hometown of Belgaum. [7] He previously lectured in Kannada literature for eight years. [2, 13] Awards & Honours: Natya Mayura Award, Arsha Kala Choodamani (2012), Uttam Kalakaar, Nritya Nipuna, Arihant Puraskar, Jain Rashtragaurav, Natya Keerthi, CCRT Scholarships, Natya Prabha award (2016), Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2017), Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Puraskar (2018), Ram Gopal Best Male Dancer Award (2018), Best dancer at Music Academy Chennai (2018), Partha Award (2021).