S. Sharmila

🪔 About

Sharmila Rao is a distinguished Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, and researcher based in Zurich, Switzerland. Born in Baden, Switzerland, in 1980, she is the daughter of Vijaya Rao and Anton Tönz, who founded the Nateschwara Academy. Sharmila began her Bharatanatyam training at the age of five under Guru Sri Pathagudi S. Ramaswamy and received further instruction from her mother, a renowned Bharatanatyam exponent. She completed her Arangetram, or stage debut, in 1992 at the age of eleven. Her artistic education also includes vocal Carnatic music training from Shri B. Raghuram, Shri N. Purushothaman, and Smt. Shanta Balasubramanian, as well as basic Veena training from Smt. Jayashree Aravind and Shri A. Shankar Raman. Additionally, she studied Western classical music, including piano for over ten years under Jacobus Baumann, and traverse flute. Sharmila Rao has performed extensively in solo capacities and in dance dramas across Europe and India since 1994, taking leading roles in productions choreographed by Guru Sri Pathagudi S. Ramaswamy and her mother, Vijaya Rao. She received her diploma as a teacher and accompanying singer from the Nateschwara Academy in 2010. Beyond her artistic pursuits, she holds a Master's degree in Indology, Social Anthropology, and Educational Science from the University of Zurich (2008) and completed her PhD in Indology in 2017, focusing on "The Modern Reception of Purandara Dasa's Compositions". She began teaching dance around 1998 and continues to work as a freelance dancer and teacher in the Zurich and Wettingen area. Awards & Honours: Natyamayuri (1999), Natyakala Sudarshini (2009), Dedication Excellency Award (2009).