Sunanda Nair is an Indian dancer trained in

Mohiniattam Mohiniyattam, ( ml, മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is an Indian classical dance form that developed and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name f ...

. She did her master's degree in this dance form from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya affiliated to the University of Mumbai. She has completed her PhD from

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

for her thesis "Intrinsic Lyrical Feminism in

" . She was born in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, India.

Early life and education

Nair took her initial training in

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

at age six. She studied in

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

under Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Warrier. Nair is a disciple of noted

exponent Padmabhushan Dr.(Smt)

Kanak Rele Kanak Rele (11 June 1937 – 22 February 2023) was an Indian dancer, choreographer, and academic best known as an exponent of Mohiniyattam. She was the founder-director of the Nalanda Dance Research Centre and the founder-principal of the Nalan ...

, credited for the revival and popularization of this classical

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

dance style. Nair was the first student to earn a master's degree in

. She was a student of Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalay at the

where she completed her Master's. She completed a seven-year course in five years. The institution is the closest to the guru Kula Sampradaya. She has a bachelor's degree in commerce from

, Bachelors & Masters in Performing Arts, from

. She also holds a PhD in dance from

- Research thesis in

titled "The Intrinsic Lyrical Feminism in

Career

After graduating, she joined the staff at Nalanda and was a lecturer at her '' alma mater'' for nine years until 1999. She passed her Net exam, a UGC requirement to continue teaching at Nalanda. She has given many performances. She studied from masters like Kalaimamani Kadirvelu, Kalaimamani Mahalingam Pillai, Guru T.V.Sounderajan, Shri Dipak Majumdar, and Smt.Tejiswini Rao in Kattumanar Muthukumar Pillai's bani. In 1980, while in high school, she started the ''Srutilaya Institute of Fine Arts'' which trains students in both

and

. SPARC is now in its 10th year of operation in the US. At SPARC, the rich tradition of Indian Classical Dance is passed to new dancers.

Performances

* Festival of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

in the former USSR * Spring Friendship Art Festival in North Korea * Performances in Middle East, Singapore and U.S.A. * Khajuraho festival in Madhya Pradesh * Konark festival in Orissa * Yuva Mahotsav in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur * Nishagandhi,

Tourism, Trivandrum * Kalidas Samaraoh, Ujjain * Modera Festival, Gujarat * Mysore Dassera Festival * Nrityotsava, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, Bangalore * Indo-Indonesian Friendship Society * Vallathol Jayanti, Kerala Kalamandalam * SAARC Conference, Mumbai * Sangeeta Sabha, Poona * Swati Tirunal Sangeet Sabha, Trivandrum * Chakradhar Samaraoh, Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi * India International Centre, Apna Utsav, New Delhi * Krishna Gana Sabha, Bharat Kalachar, Bharatiya Music and Arts, Madras * The National Centre For Performing Arts, Mumbai * Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, Mumbai * Kal-Ke-Kalakar, Mumbai * Nitya Nityati And Tanmai Arohanam Festival, Bangalore * India Habitat Centre, New Delhi * Shree Chitra Dance Festival, Trivandrum * Natyanjali Trust, Music Academy, Chennai * National Festival of Mohini Attam, Nehru Center, Mumbai * Soorya Parampara dance festival, Trivandrum, Kerala * India Habitat Center, New Delhi * Dharini, Cochin, Kerala * Monsoon Festival Art India, New Delhi * Raindrops Festival NCPA, Samved Mumbai * Bharatam, Trichur, Kerala * Sopanam, Bombay * Kalakshetram, Bombay * Asia Pacific Heritage Festival * Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy -July 2015,

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It ...

Recognition

Receiving Kalasree Award by Kerala Sangeetha Natak Akademi in 2011

* 'Global Mannam award', Nair Service Society of North America, New York 2020 * 'Nrithya Seva Mani award', Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival 2020 * 'Global Excellence Award for Performing Arts', 6th International Media Conference 2019 * 'Citation' from Bangalore Club for Kathakali & the Arts 2018 * 'Muthirai Pathitha Vithagar', Natyanjali Festival, Natyanjali Trust 2018 * 'Anantha Margaseersha Natya Puraskaram', NSSONA, Nair Sangamam 2018 * 'Nalanda Kanaka Nartana Puraskaar', Nalanda Dance Research Centre 2017 * ‘Kalarathnam’ from Kerala Kalamandalam 2016. *

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

(Kalasree Award) 2011 * 'Global Excellence Award' 2011, from GIA, New Delhi * "Kalaasagar" 2010 in memory of Late Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval * "Abhinaya shiromani" from Surya Performing Arts, Missouri, USA. * Scholarship from Central Sangeet Natak Akademi for advanced training in abhinaya and choreography * 'Singar Mani' from Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai * Nelluvai Nambeeshan Smarak Award for Mohiniattam * 'Natya Mayuri' Natyanjali Trust, Chennai * Best Ethnic Classical Arts Award, New Orleans, 2003 * Louisiana State Artist Roster * Louisiana Touring Directory * Global Excellence Dance Award, New Orleans * Presidents Award for Community Service, Indian Assoc of New Orleans

References

External links