Indira Kadambi

Indira Kadambi (born 30 September 1969, Kundapur, Karnataka) A brilliant performer, a sensitive, innovative and intelligent choreographer, Indira Kadambi has carved a niche for herself as one of the excellent exponents amongst her generation of Bharatanatyam artists today. Her abiding commitment, integrity and passion for the art give a sheen to her recitals.

Early life

Starting her initial training in Bharathnatayam at the age of six under Sri Janardhan Sharma. Later she pursued under Smt. Usha Datar and performed her debut in 1988. Pursuing dance as a career, she further got trained under Smt. Narmada and Smt. Savitri Jagannath Rao. She took advance lessons in Abhinaya under renowned teacher Padma Bhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan. She has also learnt Mohiniattam under Kalyanikutty Amma. In addition to that, she learnt Carnatic Vocal music from Belakawadi Srinivasa Iyengar and Nattuvangam from Kamala Rani of Kalakshetra, chennai. Along with her love for dance and music, she is a certified A grade advanced aspiring mountaineer.

Indira, who had made Chennai her home for two and half decades, is now settled in Bangalore with her husband TV Ramprasadh, a well known Carnatic Vocalist; son Vishnu Ramprasadh, an inventor of new instrument NAVTAR and Carnatic classical musician; Daughter in law Dr. Ramya Suresh, Bharathanatyam artist and a medical doctor.

Performances

Indira has performed in several renowned dance recitals sharing the stage with eminent artists like Amjad Ali Khan, Birju Maharaj, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Jasraj, Kelucaran Mohapatra, Vishwamohan Bhat, Zakir Hussain. She has performed in several countries like the UK, USA, Germany, France,Switzerland and Malaysia for dance recitals, lectures and workshops. She has been widely recognized for her accomplishments through radio interviews, reviews in papers and television programs. Indira is an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India.

Institution

In the year 1987, Indira and Ram established Ambalam Foundation. In 2011, the couple launched eAmbalam, the World’s first Online College of Bharathanatyam, Carnatic music and Indian percussions integrated with Yoga – a state of Art blended e-learning platform. In 2013, they launched yet another unique program “Life Art Education” in schools, where Music, Dance, Yoga and Personality development were taught to over 30000 children as part of school curriculum. Several dedicated students and teachers from India and abroad visit Indira for intensive training sessions. She imparts regular training for committed students at her institution in Bangalore. She also specializes in teaching Abhinaya, and Nattuvāngam. Some of her prominent students are Meera Sreenarayanan, Ramya Suresh, Chaithra Rao, Apeksha Kamath, Saibrinda Ramachandran, Sandhya Udupa, Saudamini Katapadi, Madhumanti Banerjee, Deeptha Seshadri to name a few.

In 2018, Indira along with her family shifted to Bangalore, where Ambalam Foundation is running successfully training several passionate students in Bharathanatyam, Carnatic vocal and Guitar.

Works

Apart from creating some wonderful compositions in traditional repertoire, Indira has choreographed and performed several path breaking solo productions such as

Choreography

Koham - The Search!
Varsha Rithu (The Monsoon)
Vamshi, The Divine Flute
Hasya (Laugh or Humour)
Purusha Parinaam (Man through time)
Sadashivam Darisanam (Shiva as a contemporary)
Ashta Nyakirarin Ishta Murugan (depiction of the Ashta Nayikas)
Manomaaneeyam (connection of souls)
Juganbandhi - (The duet)
Kavya-Chitra-Geeta-Nritya' – A programme of spontaneous creations in Sanskrit verse, Painting, Music and Dance with Shatavadhani R. Ganesh, and B.K.S. Varma

Lecture Demonstrations

Vaachika Abhinaya in Bharathi Vritti - (based on Natyasastra, Bangalore - 1996)
Dance-in-Depth series - (Abhinaya in Bharatanatyam, Los Angeles -1998)
Ashtanayika (eight kinds of heroines described in Natya Shastra, Philadelphia-2003)
Extensions to Tradition - ( Exploring new concepts, looking into existing traditional repertoire in a creative way, Chennai - 2005)
Hasya Rasa (Humor, The School, KFI -2003)

Awards

Nrithya kala sagara - Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana
Vidya Tapaswi - Tapas foundation, Chennai
Senior Dancer Award - Natyarangam, Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai (2002)
Natya Shanthala - Aryabhatta Cultural Association, Bangalore (1996)
Best Dancer Award - South Central Zone Cultural Centre, Government of India (1993)

References