Nrityanjali Academy of Dance
Where Bharatanatya has Emotions
Artistic Director & Guru: Padma Rao
Smt. Padma Rao was trained to perfection in the field of Bharatanatya by the well known Bharatanatya Guru and Rajyotsava award winner Dr. Tulasi Ramachandra, director of Nrityalaya, Mysore. Her talent was well recognized by many organizations and was awarded scholarships from Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy.
She has a Masters and PGD in computer science from the University of Mysore. Having worked as a professor and software consultant, she has an immense pleasure in dedicating herself to the field of Bharatanatya. Her creative abilities have made her an ardent art lover and have helped her nurture her love for dance, music, drawing, painting, and sculpting.
She is the artistic director of NAD, an institution par excellence in the Triangle area. Her excellent sense of humor and supportive nature amongst her students has made them look forward to each class to enjoy and learn with her. She follows a remarkably rich and intense Bharatanatya style that combines dynamism and grace, austerity and passion, energy and repose. It is a style that is aesthetic, accessible, and constantly evolving. She has composed, directed, and choreographed many dance items with mythological, historical, social, and contemporary themes. Her extraordinary knowledge of Indian history and traditions, the backbone of Bharatanatya, has inspired her to choreograph fresh and diverse themes that are innovative yet within the tradition.
She and her students have performed and rendered lecture demonstrations in India and the U.S. in a wide variety of shows organized by NIEHS-EPA, the Montessori school, VIF (Visiting International Faculty) convention, the NCAAHPERD annual convention at Winston Salem, Basant Bahar, Exploris, and Sampige Kannada Association. Her presentations, along with her students, have evoked responses from audiences as being stimulating, meaningful, and aesthetic.