Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai.
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19 Facts About Chitra Visweswaran
2.
Chitra Visweswaran was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the top civilian honours given by the Government of India, in 1992.
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3.
Chitra Visweswaran's father was an engineer with Indian Railways, and when his job took the family to London, Chitra began to study classical ballet.
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4.
At thirteen, Chitra Visweswaran choreographed the life of Saint Tyagaraja in the form of a varnam, the most demanding type of piece in the Bharata Natyam repertoire.
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5.
Chitra Visweswaran wanted to move to Chennai after finishing school to pursue a career in dance, but her parents insisted that she complete a college degree.
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6.
Chitra Visweswaran earned a BA in English from the University of Calcutta while simultaneously studying dance theory and the history of dance on her own time.
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7.
Chitra Visweswaran spent her four-year scholarship period studying in Chennai under Vazhuvoor Ramaiyya Pillai.
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8.
Chitra Visweswaran started teaching dance in Kolkata at the age of sixteen, and in 1975, she established the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts in Chennai.
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9.
Chitra Visweswaran raises money for RASA, an organisation that uses dance and music therapy for children with learning disabilities.
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10.
In 1980, Chitra Visweswaran choreographed her first major dance drama, Devi Ashta Rasa Malika, which helped popularise the concept of group formations in Bharata Natyam.
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11.
Chitra Visweswaran produced Devaki Pulambal from the viewpoint of Devaki, the mother of Krishna, instead of the viewpoint of the story's traditional narrator, Yasodhara.
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12.
Chitra Visweswaran eventually dropped costumes from her productions, arguing that playing a character solely through mime, gesture, and stance was more challenging than playing a character in the expected costume.
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13.
Chitra Visweswaran has performed in all of India's major dance festivals and has made several tours abroad, dancing in Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
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14.
Chitra Visweswaran is regularly featured on the National Program of Dance and on local programs of Doordarshan and other Indian channels.
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15.
Chitra Visweswaran's dances have been broadcast by The Mike Walsh Show in Australia, the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Television, and networks in France, Malaysia, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United States.
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16.
Chitra Visweswaran is a trustee of the India Foundation for the Arts and a member of the Indian government committee that selects candidates for scholarships and fellowships in Bharata Natyam.
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17.
Chitra Visweswaran is the University of Madras's Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Fine Arts, and is a member of the general council and executive board of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the top performing arts body in India.
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18.
Chitra Visweswaran received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987 and the Padma Shri from the President of India in 1992.
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19.
Chitra Visweswaran played the santoor, veena, and flamenco guitar, and had composed and directed music for his wife's productions.
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