The Artist & Mentor
Amirtha Varshini Murali is a Bharatanāṭyam performer and teacher who has been immersed in the art form for more than two decades. She continues to explore the nuances of the artform under the invaluable guidance of her Gurus Kalaimamani Swamimalai Dr. Suresh & Smt. Durgadevi Suresh.
Her formal training in Bharatanatyam began at Natya Sankalpaa under the able guidance of Kalaimamani Smt. Urmila Satyanarayanan and Swamimalai Dr. Suresh along with the mentorship of Smt. Saikripa Prasanna and Smt. Ramadurai Swaminathan where she underwent rigorous training in the Vazhuvūr Bāṇi for more than a decade.
Pursuing a Master’s degree in Bharatanāṭyam at SASTRA University in collaboration with Nrithyodaya, under the direct tutleage of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam opened newer perspectives on dance and Indian culture. She also had the opportunity to be mentored by gurus - Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, Dr. Gayatri Kannan & (Late) Smt. Uma Sriram while she underwent the Nrithyashali Karana course at Nrithyodaya.
Driven by an interest in the intrinsic relationship between movement, breath, and expression, she also pursued formal studies in yoga at the Krishnamachari Yoga Mandiram under the mentorship of Dr. Nrithya Jagannathan who continues to guide her on following an integrated approach to dance and yoga.
She has performed at several prominent sabhas in Chennai and has been part of major group productions under the guidance of her Gurus. Alongside performance, her academic interest in the art has led her to explore the intrinsic relationship between dance movement and aspects of yoga such as āsana, prāṇāyāma, and dhyāna, presenting her research at conferences and academic forums.
Through Shaktidhara Kalākendra, Amirtha Varshini hopes to nurture a thoughtful and rooted approach to dance that balances tradition, creativity, inquiry, and artistic sensitivity.