Srividya Sanakaranarayanan

🪔 About

Srividya Sankaranarayanan, professionally known as Vidya Sankaranarayanan, is an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer, nattuvanar (dance master), and singer. She received extensive training in the Thanjavur/Pandanallur style of Bharatanatyam from the distinguished Late Shri K.P. Kittappa Pillai, a direct descendant of the revered Tanjore Quartet, who codified traditional Bharatanatyam at the Royal Court of Thanjavur. She also honed her skills in abhinaya and the singing of padams under the tutelage of Late Smt. Lakshmi Knight, daughter and disciple of the legendary Smt. T. Balasaraswati, learning the Balasaraswati family style of music. Her initial musical training came from her mother, Smt. Saraswathy Sankaranarayanan, a trained Carnatic musician and retired professor from Annamalai University. Vidya Sankaranarayanan is the Artistic Director of Brihadisha School of Music & Dance, which she established in 2009. The school, located in Herndon, Virginia, is dedicated to preserving and upholding the authentic standards and ideologies imparted by her esteemed teachers and their lineage. Through Brihadisha, she has successfully revived and reintroduced many classical dance pieces from the Tanjore Quartet, contributing significantly to the preservation of Bharatanatyam's classical purity. She has over three decades of immersion in the Thanjavur style and continues to perform solo Bharatanatyam in both India and the United States. She also accompanied Smt. Lakshmi Knight in performances across the US and India. Her contributions to the art form have been recognized with several accolades, including the prestigious Tamilnadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram Scholarship for Dance and Nattuvangam, and the Best Performance Award at Bharata Nrithya Utsav in 2015. Awards & Honours: Tamilnadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram Scholarship for Dance and Nattuvangam, Best Performance Award at Bharata Nrithya Utsav (2015).