C. V. Chandrasekhar (born 22 May 1935) is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer, academician, dance scholar, composer, and choreographer. He retired as Head of the Faculty of Performing Arts of M.S. University,

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

in 1992. Professor Chandrashekhar and wife Jaya Chandrasekhar are one of the best known dancing couples of Bharata Natyam in India, during the 1970s and ’80s, they performed with their daughters Chitra and Manjari. Also, his grandchildren Viraj, Dhenuka, Harshavardhan and Amshuman have been of great support to him. He now runs his own dance institution, ''Nrityashree'', in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. He was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

for Bharatnatyam in 1993, by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, and received the Kalidas Samman in 2008. In 2011, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

Early life and training

He did his M. Sc., and thereafter received a Post graduate diploma (Bharatanatyam), after he trained at the internationally renowned

Kalakshetra Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in ...

, under the mentorship of

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Shastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...

, Karaikkal Saradambal, K.N. Dandaydhapani Pillai and others. He has received training classical music under teachers like Budulur Krishnamurthy Sastrigal and M.D. Ramanathan.A tale of fortitude: C.V. Chandrasekhar and Jaya Chandrasekhar..
''The Hindu'', 25 January 2008.

Career

Chandrasekhar started his dancing career in 1947, when there were few male dancers. He served at the Banaras Hindu University and later joined M.S. University of

, where he retired as the Head and Dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts in 1992. C.V. Chandrasekhar is a multi-faceted personality being a dancer, choreographer, researcher, musician, academician, composer and highly acclaimed teacher of Bharatanatyam. He has been performing for the past six decades in India and all over the globe and is invited by many dancers the world over to teach and to choreograph. He continues to perform on stage well into his seventh decade.

References

External links

Nrityashree, website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasekhar, C.V. Living people Bharatanatyam exponents Academic staff of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Indian classical choreographers Teachers of Indian classical dance Indian dance teachers 1935 births Academic staff of Banaras Hindu University Performers of Indian classical dance Indian male composers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Kalakshetra Foundation alumni Indian choreographers 20th-century Indian dancers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship