Tara Rajkumar is an Indian classical dancer and dance teacher. She is an exponent in Indian classical dances like

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 ...

and Mohiniyattam. In 2009, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. She also received many other awards including Victorian Honour Roll of Women and Victorian Volunteer Award.

Biography

Tara was born in Kozhikode, Kerala as the daughter of T. M. B. Nedungadi, former chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam. Tara is the great grand-niece of

Appu Nedungadi Appu Nedungadi (11 October 1863 6 November 1933) is the author of ''Kundalatha'', which was published in 1887, making it as the first novel published in Malayalam. He was the founder/editor of literary publications ''Kerala Pathrika'', ''Kerala ...

, the author of ''Kundalata'', the first novel in Malayalam. Attracted to Indian classical dances from a young age, she started learning

at the age of four. She lived in many places in India during her youth. Although she started learning Kathakali in Bombay, when she was too young, her serious training was from Moleri Namboothiri in Kochi. While in Delhi, she studied Kathakali under Guru Punnathoor Madhava Panicker, at the International Centre for Kathakali (ICK). A disciple of three legends Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Kalyanikutty Amma and Mani Madhava Chakyar, Tara started performing classical dance while still in school. While in Delhi, she also received training in Odissi from Guru

Surendra Nath Jena Surendra Nath Jena (10 October 1924 – 8 October 2007) was an Odissi dancer. His dance style incorporates the various aspects of Indian culture, such as temple sculpture, ancient dance, Sanskrit and vernacular literature, yoga, tradition ...

. After her marriage with Dr. Rajkumar, a scientist, they first went to UK and then to Australia. They live in Melbourne now.

Career

In her career, she has performed or taught Indian classical dance in India, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. She has also performed in famous theatres like London's

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

, Sydney's Opera House and Melbourne's

Victorian Arts Centre Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

. While in England, she founded Akademi (then called the Academy of Indian Dance), a classical dance center in England which runs to this day (as of 2023). It was with seed funding from the British government, she set up the National Academy of Indian Dance which later renamed as the South Asian Dance Academy, in London, in 1979. Tara Rajkumar immigrated to Australia in 1983 and established Natya Sudha School and Natya Sudha Dance Company in Melbourne to teach Indian classical dance. Her productions have toured Australia, United Kingdom, India, New Zealand and Thailand. With support from Commission for the Future, AsiaLink and Multicultural Arts Victoria, she developed a unique cross-cultural project, Traditions in Transition, which culminated in a season of performances at CUB Malthouse. She was the artistic director of a project that brought together classical and contemporary dance from Japan, China and India, highlighting the contributions of Australian resident artists to the Australian national cultural fabric. While in Australia, she received a fellowship from Monash University and later became Director of Performing Arts at the Monash Asia Institute. Tara was the artistic director and principal dancer of the Indian dance component of the Australian Festival of Japan to Venice program held at the Victorian Arts Centre. She developed a course, New Dance Forms and Old Cultures, for undergraduate students at Monash University, the first of its kind in Australia. Through such programs she made classical South Asian dance accessible to the society at large. Tara's work has been exhibited at the

Immigration Museum The Immigration Museum focuses on Melbourne and Victoria’s immigration history and celebrates the diversity of the community through shared storytelling. Located on Flinders Street in Melbourne, Victoria in the Old Customs House, the heritage ...

in Melbourne in recognition of her contribution to society as an immigrant to Australia. She is known as a dancer, choreographer, art director, teacher, researcher and communicator. She now has a biographical documentary called 'The Singing Anklet', which will be released in 2025 in India, that celebrates her and her contributions throughout her career.

Notable performances

Her work titled ''Temple Dreaming'', based on the life of

Louise Lightfoot Louise Mary Lightfoot (22 May 1902 – 18 May 1979) was an Australian architect, choreographer and dancer. She was also known as Louisa Mary Lightfoot. She is credited with contributing to the cultural life of Australia through both classical b ...

, was performed in many venues in both India and Australia. Tara was the first performer to perform the role

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

in Kathakali.

Awards and honors

In 2009, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. She is also included in the inaugural Victorian Honour Roll of Women for her contribution to Victoria and the country. She also received many other awards including Victorian Volunteer Award in 2006 by Victorian Government and Ethnic Arts Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tara, Rajkumar Living people Indian female classical dancers Mohiniyattam exponents Dancers from Kerala Women artists from Kerala 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Indian dance teachers Indian classical choreographers Indian women choreographers People from Kozhikode Indian emigrants to Australia Indian emigrants to England 1948 births