Shankar Kandasamy

🪔 About

Shankar Kandasamy is an established and renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, artistic director, choreographer, and guru based in Malaysia. He heads the Bharatanatyam faculty and serves as the Artistic Director of The Temple of Fine Arts (TFA) Malaysia, where he also received his initial training. His extensive training includes Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Western Classical Ballet, Kathak, contemporary dance, and various regional classical and folk dance styles of India, as well as Malay and Chinese dances. Kandasamy further honed his artistic skills at the Kalai Kaviri College of Fine Arts, Bharatidasan University in India, where he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 2007 and completed his MFA in Bharatanatyam in June 2011. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Bharatanatyam at the University of Tanjavur. As a performer, Shankar Kandasamy has given numerous Bharatanatyam recitals both locally and internationally, traveling worldwide with The Temple of Fine Arts to perform in dance dramas and variety programs. He made his solo debut in Chennai in 2007. He is a key choreographer for major dance drama productions at TFA. His choreographic works include full-length features on South India's scriptural text, Thevaram, explorations of the epic Ramayana, Ashtanayika, and 'Anjaneyam' on Hanuman. He was also invited to choreograph 'Panchali Sapatham' for the company dancers of ASWARA (Malaysian National Arts Academy) in 2013. Beyond performing and choreographing, Kandasamy is a dedicated teacher, having choreographed and conducted over 120 arangetrams (solo debuts) to date. He also serves as a lecturer in the degree program of the Malaysian National Arts Academy and sits on the National Arts Awards panel of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage Malaysia as an Advisor. His sound knowledge of Sanskrit and Tamil, coupled with his Carnatic music training, makes him a sought-after resource person and music composer for dance. Awards & Honours: Aryabhatta Award of Excellence (2012).