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Geeta Chandran is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and vocalist.[2][3] Trained in Carnatic music, she is an Indian classical Bharatanatyam artist, recognized for her work in theatre, dance, education, videos and films.[4]

Career

In order to expand her frontiers in the classical arts, Chandran has collaborated with dancers, musicians, authors, writers, poets, painters, theatre-personalities, academicians, philosophers, linguists, and costume & fashion designers.

Education and early career

She studied mathematical statistics at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi.[5] Her specialization in Bharatanatyam Abhinaya began at the feet of her first Guru, Abhinaya Saraswathy, followed by Gurus Jamuna Krishnan and Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, who helped hone her skills. Geeta’s Junior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture was for a project on Vachika Abhinaya, which linked her dance to her training as a Carnatic vocalist. She integrated poetry and pads from northern devotional poets into the Bharatanatyam repertoire during her senior fellowship, which was for Haveli Sangeet.

After doing her master’s degree from IIMC in 1984, she used to work as a course coordinator at IIMC for one year before attending NAMEDIA Foundation, where she worked alongside renowned media luminaries Nikhil Chakravorty and N.L. Chawla, former IIMC Director. On receiving the Padma Shri, she said “What I learned at IIMC laid the groundwork for my pedagogy of social communication through dance. All of my work in environmental, gender and peace performances can be traced back to IIMC. That is something I will be eternally grateful for.”[6] Later, She worked in NTPC’s public relations department before committing full-time to Bharatanatyam, her passion since the age of five.[3]

Recognition

She received the Dandayudhapani Pillai Award for Bharatanatyam in 2001 and the Millennium Award.[7] The Government of India awarded Chandran the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor, in 2007, for her contributions to the field of art.[8]

Geeta Chandran has been conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puruskar for Bharatanatyam for the year 2016.[9]

She has received several other notable awards, including the Lady Shri Ram College Illustrious Alumna Award, the Bharat Nirman Award, the Natya Ilavarasi, the Indira Priyadarshini Award, the Media India Award, the National Critics Award, the Sringar Mani and the Natya Ratna.[10]

The Alumni Association of the Indian Institute of Mass Communications also awarded her with its first Lifetime Achievement Award during the 10th annual meet Connections on 27 February 2022.[11]

References

  1. ^ “Wayback Machine” (PDF). www.sangeetnatak.gov.in. Retrieved 7 July 2025. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  2. ^ “‘When absolutely everything around us is changing, why do we expect dance to be static?’: Bharatanatyam exponent Geeta Chandran”. The Indian Express. 20 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b India, The Hans (5 March 2022). “Danseuse Geeta Chandran receives Lifetime Achievement Award”. www.thehansindia.com.
  4. ^ “‘When absolutely everything around us is changing, why do we expect dance to be static?’: Bharatanatyam exponent Geeta Chandran”. The Indian Express. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  5. ^ Kuenzang, Karishma (18 July 2010). “Geeta Chandran’s maths connection”. The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  6. ^ “Danseuse Geeta Chandran receives Lifetime Achievement Award”. Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  7. ^ Kumar, Shreya (27 June 2005). “Geeta Chandran, a Bharatanatyam Dancer from Delhi”. Anand Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  8. ^ “Padma Awards” (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015.
  9. ^ “Press Release by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi” (PDF). Sangeet Natak Akademi. 26 May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  10. ^ “Festival of New Choreographies: Celebrating traditional Indian dances”. www.millenniumpost.in. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  11. ^ India, The Hans (5 March 2022). “Danseuse Geeta Chandran receives Lifetime Achievement Award”. www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.