Professor Sudharani Raghupathy

🪔 About

Professor Sudharani Raghupathy is a highly acclaimed Indian classical Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, teacher, and author, lauded as a "Living Legend" in the field. Born on March 21, 1944, in Pollachi, she grew up in Bangalore and pursued her higher education in Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Mysore. Her extensive training in Bharatanatyam was under eminent gurus such as U.S. Krishna Rao, K.P. Kittappa Pillai, and Mylapore Gowri Ammal. She also received training in Carnatic music from violin maestro T. Chowdiah and Vidwan Madurai N. Krishnan. In 1964-65, Sudharani Raghupathy was the first Indian student at Randolph Macon's Women's College in Virginia, USA, where she majored in World History of Dance, Studio Arts, and the Martha Graham technique in modern dance, learning from Eleanor Struppa. Her illustrious career as a performer began in 1947, and she has had the rare distinction of performing before numerous visiting dignitaries to India since 1956, including a command performance for Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in 1955. A significant international milestone was her invited performance at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Human Rights Day in December 1981. Professor Raghupathy founded Shree Bharatalaya, an institution of fine arts in Chennai, in 1970, dedicated to the systematic training and dissemination of Bharatanatyam. She has authored "Laghu Bharatam," a series of three handbooks on Bharatanatyam, and produced valuable resource material including books, audio cassettes, and CDs/DVDs. Her contributions also include producing and directing "Bharatanjali," the first TV serial on Bharatanatyam, which aired on Doordarshan in 1981 and 1989. She has served on various cultural committees and was the Vice-Chairperson of the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi, from 1998 to 2002. She continues to teach and present lecture-demonstrations, having completed over 60 years as a dancer and 45 years as a teacher by 2015. Awards & Honours: Nritya Choodamani (1979), Kalaimamani (1981), Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1984), Natana Sironmani (1985), Natya Ratna (1986), Padma Shri (1988), Natya Kalanidhi (1988), Natya Jyothi (1994), Senior Teaching Associate of Indian Studies (Professor) (1995), Sapthagiri Sangeetha Vidwanmani (1996), Kalashree (1999), Natya Kala Sikamani (2001), Natya Kala Sarathy (2002), Natya Kala Acharya (2013), Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi (2026).