Kantham Chatlapalli
Founder & Director, Natyanikethan
Kantham Chatlapalli is the founder and director of Natyanikethan, school of Classical and Folk dance. A disciple of Natyacharya Sri Pasumarthi Seetharamayya, she started learning Kuchipudi and Bharathanatyam at a very young age and has participated in several dance programs and competitions in the US, India, and Ethiopia. She started her career as a Kuchipudi teacher in 1983, and has since choreographed and directed a multitude of classical and folk dances, as well as dance dramas. Her most recent compositions include Dasavataramulu and Sree Krishna Leelalu, which premiered at the World on Stage event in Stamford, CT and the Indian Center in Westchester, NY, respectively.
Kantham has trained students in India, Ethiopia, and the US and has organized performances to promote the rich cultural ancestry behind Kuchipudi. As a teacher, Kantham aims to create interest and develop passion for Indian Classical Dance in young students and has also been involved in helping her advanced students complete “Rangapravesams” or dance graduations, in which she accompanies the orchestra with the nattuvangam (vocal accompaniment to singing).
One of Kantham’s goals has been to increase awareness of the Indian classical dance form through exposure and education. As a result, her dance school has participated in various performances and workshops organized by distinguished institutions. Some of these institutions include: the Dutchess County Arts Council, the Federation of Indian Association, the Telugu Association of North America, the American Telugu Association, the Vanaver Caravan Dance Company, and the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts in Manhattan.
Kantham has trained students in India, Ethiopia, and the US and has organized performances to promote the rich cultural ancestry behind Kuchipudi. As a teacher, Kantham aims to create interest and develop passion for Indian Classical Dance in young students and has also been involved in helping her advanced students complete “Rangapravesams” or dance graduations, in which she accompanies the orchestra with the nattuvangam (vocal accompaniment to singing).
One of Kantham’s goals has been to increase awareness of the Indian classical dance form through exposure and education. As a result, her dance school has participated in various performances and workshops organized by distinguished institutions. Some of these institutions include: the Dutchess County Arts Council, the Federation of Indian Association, the Telugu Association of North America, the American Telugu Association, the Vanaver Caravan Dance Company, and the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts in Manhattan.
Along with her participation in community events and performances, Kantham has spent the last 28 years dedicated to exposing her audiences to some of the finest interpretations of this ancient art form. This devotion is recognized by various organizations around the world. In 2003, she was selected by the New York State Council on the Arts as the winner of a Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant and was the recipient of the Dutchess County Executive award as an individual artist. In the summer of 2004, she was honored in India with the title of Natya Kalanidhi (Treasure of Dance) for preserving and promoting the art form. In October 2006, the Dutchess County Arts Council nominated Kantham for the prestigious NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) National Heritage Fellowship, in recognition of her lifelong contributions to Indian dance in the United States. Kantham performed along with her students in the first and second International Kuchipudi Convention held in Cupertino, California and in Hyderabad, India and received a certificate from Guinness World Records in 2008 and 2010. In 2011, Kantham performed in the NRI dance festival in Kuchipudi village, India, the birth place of this dance style. She was also honored by the Government of Andhrapradesh Department of Culture at Hyderabad for her dedicated contribution to Kuchipudi dance and by the Ladies Recreation Club, Rajahmundry with the title of The Outstanding Kuchipudi Dance Resource Person for promoting this dance form for the past three decades.