With one foot in Bengaluru and the other in Singapore, danseuse Gayatri Sriram who has studied Bharatanatyam under Kalakshetra Alumnus Minal Prabhu, is in the city to perform at the Kala Nadam Festival. “I stay in Singapore presently but always have one foot in Bengaluru, as well since both my parents and my guru Minal Prabhu are based here. I have travelled all over India and predominantly Europe with my performances. I think for a dancer every performance is special," exclaims Gayatri.
Her dance reflects a beautiful poetry with precision as she moves her svelte figure, with grace and poise, her long arms weaving geometric patterns, straight lines and diagonals.
Thankful to her guru, Gayatri, an alumnus of the Singapore International Federation and a grant holder from the National Arts Council of Singapore, says, “My guru works with me endlessly and tirelessly. I owe her so much. She runs the Mudrika school of Dance in Bengaluru. She has learnt abhinaya from Kalanidhi Narayanan. My parents introduced me to Bharatanatyam when I was five-years-old and I loved the dance form. It was at the age of 12 that I met my present guru and I knew that I would be a Bharatanatyam artist."
Winner of the Rukmini Devi Award for her performance by the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in 2011 and Ananya Puraskar in 2013, Gayatri feels dance is an extension of herself. Recalling her favourite performance, so far, she says, “My performances under the Ananya banner in Bengaluru are always special because the audience that comes to watch is discerning and appreciative. I performed recently at Johannesburg for the Shared Histories Festival, which was amazing, as every thing seemed perfect, the audience, the music and the lighting. I premiered a production called Dwitayam as well. Dancing this year for the Korzo Theatre at The Hague for the India Festival was memorable as well, besides The Esplanade Singapore, which is special to me as it paved the path to many wonderful performances." She also runs the dance school Shruti Laya in Singapore and created Samarpana, the Asian Festival of Classical Dance in Singapore.
