Smt Jayalakshimi Raman

About

Smt Jayalakshimi is recognised as a pioneer in the South Indian traditional dance form, Bharata Natyam both in Singapore and Western Australia. She has taught dance and music successfully for over 56 years, and has been honoured for being an outstanding ambassador for Kalakshetra Foundation, the world renowned institute for Bharata Natyam in India. In 2015, Jayalakshmi was awarded a lifetime achievement award in Singapore bestowed with the title of ‘Natya Aachaarya Mani’ by Apsaras Arts. That same year, she received the ‘Jeeyar Award of Excellence for her Pioneering Service to Indian Classical Dance in Western Australia’ from JET Australia Foundation. As a pioneer of Bharata Natyam, Jayalakshimi was also invited in 2019, by the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society to present a workshop to mark the 70th year of Indian dance in Singapore. Distinguished guru, performer, vocalist, choreographer and orchestra lead Jayalakshimi had a passion for dance and music at an early age. Recognising her deep yearning for the arts, her parents brought her from Singapore to Chennai, India to study Bharata Natyam at Kalakshetra when she was just 14 years of age. Kalakshetra became her home. She graduated from Kalakshetra in 1967, after five years of intensive training in Pandanallur bani, now known as Kalakshetra style. While studying Bharata Natyam, she was trained in Carnatic music by the late Budalur Krishnamurthy Shastri who was also the principal of the Carnatic College in Chennai. Worthy of note, during her time at Kalakshetra, Jayalakshimi was privileged and honoured to have been mentored by her guru, the Founder and Principal of Kalakshetra, the late Rukmini Devi Arundale, credited for the renaissance of the Bharata Natyam dance form. She has been named in India Today’s list of ‘100 People Who Shaped India.’

Skills & Expertise