My Gurus

A Cultural Medallion recipient (1990) for dance in Singapore, Santha Bhaskar is known for her distinctive choreography style. She is the Artistic Director of Bhaskar’s Arts Academy and chief choreographer at the Centre for the Arts, National University of Singapore, where she has taught for over 20 years.

A versatile choreographer, she has staged numerous productions from dance dramas to contemporary works in classical Indian dance as well as cross-cultural and experimental forms reflecting the unique Singapore identity. Over the years she has imbibed various influences such as Chinese, Malay, Thai and western dance styles in her choreography, illustrated in many notable works. In 2008, she led the Singapore representatives, comprising of both musicians and dancers, to the World Folk Song Festival held at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China.

Smt. (Indu) Jayanthi Varma trained under Kamala Laxman, a Padma Bhushan Awardee, from the age of six. Her arangretram at the Music Academy, Chennai and several performances with her Guru followed. Indu continued her training under Natyacarya K. P. Kittappa Pillai of Tanjavur. This association culminated in the establishment of Tapasya Kala Sampradaya with the vision of preserving India’s original cultural heritage.

Indu was part of the research team of Marainduvarum Marabugal, Tapasya’s research documentary funded in part by India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore. A former member of the Board of Studies, Faculty of Dance, University of Madras, Indu has authored and published books and articles on traditional culture and spirituality.

Dr. Sujatha Mohan, is one of the senior-most disciples of the world renowned danseuse Padmabhushan Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. Dr. Sujatha has completed formal training in her Guru’s Institution “Nrithyodaya” and has been in this field for more than three decades. She has given innumerable performances in India and abroad accompanying her Guru.

She started her dance Institution “Padmashree Nrithyalaya” in the year 1997. Sujatha has conducted work-shops (theory and practical classes) in Karanas and Natyasastra in Singapore, the U.S.A. and Switzerland. Some of her awards are “Bharatha Nritya Priya” and “Padma Bharathi”. She is currently the Head Of Department Of Natya at MGR Janaki College.

An eternal devotee of Bharatanatyam, Vidhya Subramanian is known for her refined elegance and “the total internalization of emotive energy”. Her choreography combines great discipline, knowledge of space and time, exquisite control and total immersion in her subject.

Trained in the Vazhuvoor style by eminent Gurus S.K. Rajarathnam and abhinaya exponent Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, Vidhya’s performances have stood out as a beacon to discerning audiences.

As a teacher and artistic director, her intense involvement has been the reason for the evolution of many students and ensemble works. With a Masters degree in theater arts, she has been involved in theatre and film as another creative outlet to her immense talent.