Vimala Sarma

🪔 About

Vimala Sarma is a classical Indian dance teacher, performer, and choreographer specializing in the Kuchipudi style, based in Sydney, Australia. She is the founder of Nayika Indian Dance, a company that also organizes cultural tours to India. Sarma's primary Kuchipudi guru is Satyapriya Ramana, who was a student and teacher at Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam's Kuchipudi Art Academy. While she initially sought to learn from Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam directly, she later developed her own teaching methodology. She also took short courses from Bala Kondala Rao and Kalpalathika Krishnan. In her early teens, she briefly learned Bharatanatyam (Kalakshetra style) from Shanta Dhananjayan and Shanta Menon. Sarma has also learned Mohiniattam, a graceful dance style from Kerala. Born in Malaysia, Vimala Sarma moved to Australia on a Colombo Plan scholarship. She holds a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Adelaide and had a distinguished career in the Australian Public Service in Canberra, holding senior positions for 15 years. Later, she worked as a management consultant in Sydney before establishing her own research and development management consultancy, Ashwyn Innovations Pty Ltd. She is known for her non-traditional approach to teaching, incorporating elements of yoga, Pilates, and Western dance principles to enhance Kuchipudi. Her performances often include voice-overs to explain hand gestures to her predominantly non-Indian audiences in Sydney. Sarma has performed in prestigious annual Festivals of Music and Dance in Chennai (Madras Festival) and other South Indian Festivals. She has also staged her own productions in Sydney, including at the Sydney Opera House. Awards & Honours: Certificate of Excellence (2006), Natyakala Siromani (2007), Felicitated (2008).