Chitra Visweswaran is a very popular Bharatanatyam
dancer of India. Along with being an amazing dancer, she is also an
excellent teacher and a brilliant choreographer. Chitra founded her own
dance institution 'Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts' at Chennai,
to promote the classical dances of India throughout the world. In the
following lines, we have provided the complete biography cum life
history of Chitra Vishweswaran.
Chitra received her first training in the field of dance, at the tender
age of three. Her mother, Smt. Rukmini Padmanabhan, who is an
outstanding dancer, became her first guru. Chitra's formal training in
dance began when she learnt Western Classical Ballet in London, where
her father was posted as the Railway Adviser at the Indian High
Commission. Thereafter, she received training in the classical dances of
Manipuri and Kathak in Calcutta. Chitra then also received training from
Smt. T. A. Rajalakshmi and continued with the training for the next ten
years.
Chitra Visweswaran choreographed her first dance under Rajalakshmi's
guidance, at the age of eleven only. She received the National
Scholarship for advanced study in Bharatnatyam, from the Ministry of
Human Resources Development, in the year 1970. Under the scholarship,
Chitra received guidance under Bharatnatyam exponent Vazhuvoor Ramaiyya
Pillai. After the scholarship was over, she charted her own course in
the field of dance. Later, Chitra married R. Visweswaran a vocalist,
composer as well as a santoor player.
Chitra Visweswaran has given amazing dance performances in almost all
the major dance festivals of India. She also participates in foreign
shows on a regular basis. Her shows are so brilliant that numerous
institutions and universities have documented them, along with her
lectures, for reference. Chitra has made immense contribution to the
field of dance through her experimentation and innovations. Presently,
she is involved with RASA, an institute that uses creative dance and
music therapy for special children with learning disabilities.
Important Works
 |
Dances of India |
