Dancing away
1 Feb 2014 4:07 AM IST
One of the leading Kuchipudi dance exponents, Meenu Thakur hails from Rajasthan, was inducted into dance from childhood, she learnt Kathak for five years before she decided to take up the serious study of Kuchipudi the traditional dance style of Andhra Pradesh.
With initial training by renowned guru Swapnasundari and Natyacharya Pasumurthy Sitaramaiya, dance has become an integral part of Thakur’s life. With thorough grooming by Padmashri Guru Jayaramarao and Vanashree Rao, Meenu has blossomed into a fine exponent of Kuchipudi dance.
Thakur has flair and grace for an efflorescent dance style like Kuchipudi. Her style represents a combination of the feature of Purusha Sampradaya (Original male dance tradition) of Kuchipudi and its Anuroopa (Transformation of the male dance style into female interpretation). She has excellent command over technique and abhinaya. Dedication and sincerity has been the salient qualities of this gifted danseuse. She is the prominent face of the younger generation, having performed in various national and international fora with aplomb and refinement, she has carved a niche for herself.
Endowed with grace and charm, a mobile visage and attractive stage presence, Thakur is a devoted dancer and has a fruitful career ahead. She is an amalgamation of the grace of Kuchipudi dance style and the intricacies of Kathak dance style.
Thakur has also worked as Cultural Coordinator in New Delhi Municipal Council Cultural Wing and is an empanelled artist (Established category) in Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Government of India. She is an ‘A’ graded artist of Doordarshan.
Besides numerous festivals across India, Thakur has performed abroad in places like Bahrain, UK, Brazil, Serbia, Croatia, South Africa, Re-Union, Zambia, El-Salvador, Panama, Mauritius, Nepal, China, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Bhutan, Austria and Hungary.
Thakur was awarded the Shingar Mani by the Sur Shringar Samsad. She also received the gold medal for propogation of Kuchipudi by Aryabhatta Society. She was the recepient of the scholarship in Kuchipudi from Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Junior Fellowship from Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
She has performed at Rashtrapathi Bhavan in 2007 in the presence of then President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.The Late R Venkatraman, former President of India has actively encouraged Meenu to perform at various fora. He was the Patron of the Dance Society administered by her before his sad demise in January 2009.
Currently Thakur runs the Society for promotion of Art, Culture and Indian Dance called Suramya. Which is successfully conducting workshops for young learners of classical dance.
With initial training by renowned guru Swapnasundari and Natyacharya Pasumurthy Sitaramaiya, dance has become an integral part of Thakur’s life. With thorough grooming by Padmashri Guru Jayaramarao and Vanashree Rao, Meenu has blossomed into a fine exponent of Kuchipudi dance.
Thakur has flair and grace for an efflorescent dance style like Kuchipudi. Her style represents a combination of the feature of Purusha Sampradaya (Original male dance tradition) of Kuchipudi and its Anuroopa (Transformation of the male dance style into female interpretation). She has excellent command over technique and abhinaya. Dedication and sincerity has been the salient qualities of this gifted danseuse. She is the prominent face of the younger generation, having performed in various national and international fora with aplomb and refinement, she has carved a niche for herself.
Endowed with grace and charm, a mobile visage and attractive stage presence, Thakur is a devoted dancer and has a fruitful career ahead. She is an amalgamation of the grace of Kuchipudi dance style and the intricacies of Kathak dance style.
Thakur has also worked as Cultural Coordinator in New Delhi Municipal Council Cultural Wing and is an empanelled artist (Established category) in Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Government of India. She is an ‘A’ graded artist of Doordarshan.
Besides numerous festivals across India, Thakur has performed abroad in places like Bahrain, UK, Brazil, Serbia, Croatia, South Africa, Re-Union, Zambia, El-Salvador, Panama, Mauritius, Nepal, China, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Bhutan, Austria and Hungary.
Thakur was awarded the Shingar Mani by the Sur Shringar Samsad. She also received the gold medal for propogation of Kuchipudi by Aryabhatta Society. She was the recepient of the scholarship in Kuchipudi from Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Junior Fellowship from Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
She has performed at Rashtrapathi Bhavan in 2007 in the presence of then President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.The Late R Venkatraman, former President of India has actively encouraged Meenu to perform at various fora. He was the Patron of the Dance Society administered by her before his sad demise in January 2009.
Currently Thakur runs the Society for promotion of Art, Culture and Indian Dance called Suramya. Which is successfully conducting workshops for young learners of classical dance.
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