Emerging as one of the most exciting talents of the 21st century, the dance couple Nirupama & Rajendra have astounded audiences internationally with dreamlike quality of their dance works.

Coming from a highly cultured family background of Harikatha vidwans of South India, they nurtured their skills in Kathak & Choreography under eminent Gurus like Dr.Maya Rao, Padma Bhushan Kumudini Lakhia, Pundit Arjun Mishra & Nahid Siddiqui from Pakistan.

Graduates in Dance Choreography, they have trained in the expressive elements (Abhinaya) from Guru Kalanidhi Narayan,Bharathanatyam from Guru Narmada & studied special movement vocabularies of Natya Sastra under Mrs.Sundari Santhanam-a senior disciple of Dr.Padma Subramaniam.

They are currently applying these techniques in their Choreographic works. They have produced several dance works fusing various styles from Ethnic to Modern featuring an extraordinary range of creative expressions from the deep Indian classics to contemporary.

They have extensively travelled performing at several prestigious National & International events in India, UK, Switzerland, France, Germany, Africa, RE-Union Islands and USA. They hold “A TOP” the highest artist’s ratings on Doordarshan (Indian National Television )& are empanelled artists of the ICCR – Indian Council for Cultural Relations – Government of India.

From being a purely performance oriented twosome they have evolved as Choreographers, Producers & Creative leaders in their own right & currently head their own Abhinava Dance Company ,Bangalore.

PERFORMANCES & AUDIENCE

PERFORMANCES - ADC’s shows blend the beauty & spirit of Indian Traditional dance aesthetics with creative techniques & are accessible and entertaining to the widest possible audience.

AUDIENCES - their performances have been highly appreciated by audiences of all ages & Nationalities from Indians to British, Americans, Swiss, French, Germans, Belgians, Russians, Middle Eastern, Africans & others.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENTS

Nirupama & Rajendra are consciously engaged in supporting the needy sections of the society, raising funds through performances for charitable organizations in India, Europe and USA to help Education and Medical needs in the third world countries.

Taking statistics of all their performances ,the duo have the credits of having successfully reached out to a large audience of 4,000,000 ( Four million) people from all over the world ONLY THROUGH STAGE PERFORMANCES.

Till date ,they have choreographed around 200 sequences that include full length & short length dance creations in traditional & neo traditional styles.

They had the honors of sharing the same dais with Former President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in the discussion forum on the subject “ Can Arts Save the World “at the BIG HOPE Congress Liverpool – UK, where they also shared Indian culture,Spirit & Dance with 700 youth from 55 countries through series of performances & workshops.

They have received several 'Young achiever' awards. They are recognized as Paul Harris fellows by Rotary International ,Honorary Toast Masters & have been honored with recognition from the Mayor of Tulsa & Governor of Oklahoma - USA.

Sponsored by Milap Festival Trust Liverpool UK , the duo lead their company Abhinava to UK In 2006 & 2009, on National tours performing in prestigious venues, including the Salisbury International Arts festival, The Shaw Theatre & Nehru Centre London, Contemporary Dance Theatre Liver pool, The Lowry’s Manchester.

They have worked with International Dance & Education companies as performers, & choreographers- to mention noteworthy projects :

Choreography & performance of a Dance musical with 120 British/Indian children at the Birmingham Symphony Hall ,UK.

A multicultural project “The Ocean of Light” presented by the Battery Dance Company, NY where Indian dancers came together with American Contemporary dancers from New Orleans & paid homage to the Tsunami and Katrina victims. The show received great accolades from the Locals, Critics, Connoisseurs, and Celebrities of America in the Down Town Festival New York & Rebirth & Remembrance event at New Orleans.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Best young dancer of State Nirupama:1995
Best young male dancer Rajendra:1996
Outstanding young dancer Nirupama:1997
Natya Praveena Rajendra:1998
Natya Mayuri Nirupama:1998
Recognition citation from:
Wayne State University, Michigan- USA:2000
Kala Arathi Ratna Award, Phoenix USA:2001
Empowerment for Excellence by Karnataka State Chartered Accounts Association:2003
Paul Harris Fellowship :2004
Recognition by Governor of Oklahoma & Mayor of Tulsa :2006 & 2008
Heads of Creativity & presentation – WORLD DANCE ALLIANCE –April 2008
Honorary International Toastmasters – May 2008