Nirupama Rajendra

Nirupama & Rajendra (ನಿರುಪಮ, ರಾಜೇಂದ್ರ) Kannada

Nirupama Rajendra and T.D.Rajendra are a dancing couple specializing in Kathak & Bharatanatyam They are the founders and artistic directors of Abhinava Dance Company based in Bangalore
Born Bengaluru Karnataka, India
Occupation Dancers & Artistic Directors of Abhinava Dance Company
Website www.abhinavadancecompany.com
Dances Bharathanatyam, Kathak

Nirupama and Rajendra (ನಿರುಪಮ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜೇಂದ್ರ) are noted Indian Classical Dancers in the Bharathanatyam & Kathak dance forms and they are from Bengaluru, Karnataka .[1][2] They are actively involved as dancers, choreographers, teachers & producers for over 25 years. Nirupama & Rajendra’s performances are based on Indian classical dance tradition perfected over years of learning in music, literature and culture. They derive their movement vocabulary and inspiration from 5000 year old scripture such as Natyashastra & creatively use the state of the art to provide a wholesome experience. Nirupama & Rajendra ’s performances have attracted over five million audience in the five continents and have gained the appreciation of the erudite and the laymen, alike.

The legendary music composer & Oscar Awardee Mr.A.R.Rahman on seeing their performance remarked that: "They have a very infectious Passion for Art".

Life and work

They hailed from the lineage of Harikatha Vidhwans of south India, Nirupama and Rajendra were trained under gurus Maya Rao, Smt.Chitra Venugopal, Kumudini Lakhia, Pundit Arjun Misra and Nahid Siddiqui from Pakistan and graduated in dance choreography and learnt special movement vocabularies of Natya Shastra.[3] Nirupama & Rajendra have established themselves as Kathak couple from 1990 onwards and after performing at several festivals in India and in UK they formed a registered trust "Abhinava Arts Centre" in 1995 under the Society Act of Government of Karnataka, where they are teaching bharathanatyam & kathak to the young aspirants and spreading the traditional classical dance forms.[4][5] As empanelled Artists of the ICCR(Indian Council for Cultural Relations) they were sent on a performance tour to Africa & Re-Union Islands in 2002. They have choreographed and produced different dance works and have travelled performing in several cities in USA, Canada & Europe.[6][7][8][9][10][11] They are in to the field of dance for over 20 years. They are holding A TOP the highest artists rating on Indian National Television.[12][13]

Career

Nirupama & Rajendra have established themselves as Kathak couple from 1990 onwards and after performing at several festivals in India and in UK they formed a registered trust "Abhinava Arts Centre" in 1995 under the Society Act of Government of Karnataka. They gained professional experience of working with Chitralekha & Company, Nahid Siddique & company in UK.[14] As empanelled Artists of the ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) they were sent on a performance tour to Africa & Re-Union Islands in 2002.[15] Nirupama & Rajendra established ADC (Abhinava Dance Company) a unit of Abhinava Arts Centre in 2005.[16]

ADC

Abhinava Dance Company is a production house comprising of dancers, actors, technical & wardrobe managers who regularly contribute to the performances.The company has its own studio called “Srujana” where concerts are hosted to provide an intimate art experience. At this studio ADC also offers Indian cultural experience programs for visiting foreign delegates from academia and corporate companies. A special study circle of classical literature to also happens at the studio.

Works

Nirupama & Rajendra over the years have created over 150 works comprising of short & long duration dance productions with original content.The scripts are specially written by poets and scholars of International repute like Shatavadhani Dr.R.Ganesh .Music is composed in collaboration with eminent musicians like Praveen D Rao , Pravin Godkhindi , Mysore Manjunath , Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma & others.Costumes,stage props,lighting and stage arrangements are designed & executed by the in-house production team of Abhinava.

Their solo, duet and group productions include:

Performances & Reviews

Nirupama & Rajendra have given over 700 performances performing in all the major festivals of India at the Khajuraho Festival, Sri. Krishna Gana Sabha & Music Academy - Chennai, Kathak Mahotsav -Delhi, Sangeet Natak Academy festivals, Uday Shankar Festival -Kolkata, SICA ( South Indian Cultural Association) - Hyderabad, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan - Mumbai, Nishagandhi, Temple festival at Kollam, Trivandrum & Palakkad - Kerala, Dussehra-Mysore, Bengaluru International Film Festival, Bengaluru Habba & Bengaluru International Arts Festival & many more. And some of their International festivals include, Salisbury Festival - UK, Performing Arts Festival -South Florida College USA, Kabir Cultural Centre - Montreal, Canada, Shanghai Centre Theatre, 34th International geological Conference -Cape Town,South Africa.They have also performed for the Indian Embassy in Shanghai, China.

Nirupama Rajendra OJAS Performance in Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru in the year 2013

Nirupama & Rajendra have performed for other major events like 10 years of Delhi International Airport, World Journalists meet Hyderabad, several conferences conducted by the corporates like Intel, IBM, Mindtree, Bharat Electronics, HAL, GE, GMR, Accenture, Honeywell, Taegutec India etc. They have performed for several charity organisations in India & abroad like Nele, Vishranthi, Joy of giving Week, International Symposium on World Peace, The Global Harmony Foundation - Switzerland, The Reha Suisse, Shankara Eye Foundation - California, AID India project - Hartford, KSHK - Hong Kong.

They have had the honor of sharing the dias with former President of India Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam in the discussion forum on Art at the BIG HOPE CONGRESS 2007, hosted by MILAPFEST & Hope University Liverpool. At the same congress they also conducted workshops & performed for the 700 youth from 55 countries.

Nirupama Rajendra and their dance company Abhinava gave a performance with the name "OJAS", it is a Sanskrit word which literally means "vigor", it was hosted by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai and Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore. As cited in the newspaper The Hindu, it was a two-hour show presented Kathak dance not in the conventional way, but as well-finished and slick choreography.[17] As a part of The Joy Giving Week, they gave a performance at SAP Labs,Bangalore for a social cause.[18] They gave Kathak Performances at Bhagavatam festival,Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in chennai[19][20]

Awards & Recognitions

In the year 2013, Nirupama & Rajendra were honoured for their contribution to the field of dance at Maha Maya- A dance festival organised as a Tribute to dancer US Krishna Rao in Ravindra Kalakshetra,Bangalore, Karnataka.[21] In the year 2011, the dancing duo was awarded with Karnataka Kalashree Award,a Karnataka State Government Award for their contribution to the Indian traditional dance forms.[22] In the year 2016 they conferred with " Nrithya Choodamani" by the renowned Sri.Krishna Gana Sabha,Chennai. “Dridhti Puraskar”award in 2012 was constituted by Drishti Art Foundation for them. In the year 1998, Nirupama was titled with Natya Mayuri and Rajendra with Natya Mayura by Govt. of Karnataka for their excellence in the field of dance.[23] They have got many other awards like “Kalavatamsa” - 2014 by Gokulam School of Music, "Sri Krishna Vittalanugraha Prashasthi" 2010 - Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt, "Honorary International Toastmasters" – May 2008, " Honorary Paul Harris Fellowship : 2004 by Rotary International, "Kala Arathi Ratna Award", Phoenix USA : 2001 etc.

References

  1. ↑ "About Nirupama Rajendra". thiraseela.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  2. ↑ "CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS-About Dancers Nirupama and Rajendra". www.thehindu.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  3. ↑ "Nirupama Rajendra and their Guru's". www.thehindu.com. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  4. ↑ "Rajendra and Nirupama at their dance studio". bangalore.citizenmatters.in. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  5. ↑ "Abhinava Dance Company in Bangalore". wikimapia.org. Retrieved 2013-10-23.
  6. ↑ "Nirupama and Rajendra give Indian dance performance in Florida,USA". articles.orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  7. ↑ "Poetry In Motion: Nirupama & Rajendra Performance in Boston,USA". www.lokvani.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  8. ↑ "Performance for Navika 2013-2nd Kannada Summit in Boston, USA". www.navika.org. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  9. ↑ "International Performances". www.kemmannu.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  10. ↑ "Dance at The Lowry, Salford Quays,Manchester,England". www.thelowry.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  11. ↑ "Nirupama Rajendra show in Canada". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2013-10-23.
  12. ↑ "A TOP Rating" (PDF). www.sapaf.org. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  13. ↑ "Rating held by the artists". www.azindia.com. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  14. ↑ "Company". www.nahidsiddiqui.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "List of Empanelled Artists". www.iccr.gov.in. Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "ABHINAVA DANCE COMPANY". www.abhinavadancecompany.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Feast for the eyes,Ojas-Kathak Performance Review". www.hindu.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  18. ↑ "Nirupama rajendra Dance for a cause". newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  19. ↑ "Performance by Nirupama Rajendra & Abhinava at Bhagavatam festival". www.hindu.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  20. ↑ "Nirupama rajendra Dance performance in Vidya Bhavan, Chennai". www.narthaki.com. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  21. ↑ "Award for the dancing duo Nirupama Rajendra at Maha Maya". www.narthaki.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  22. ↑ "Kalashree Award Winners Nirupama Rajendrs". articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  23. ↑ "Titled Natya Mayuri & Natya Mayura". bangalore.citizenmatters.in. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
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