Mayuri Upadhya
Founder, Artistic Director, Principal Choreographer
Photo Credit: Rony Dutta
“The hardest person to convince is you”
Accomplished choreographer she is, but Mayuri lives by these words. She is committed to the further advancement of dance and has launched numerous innovative initiatives that have positioned Nritarutya as leader not just in Indian Contemporary Dance but a bastion, dedicated to advancement of dance as a career choice and not just a hobby. Her entrepreneur approach is guiding Nritarutya in collaborations, dance education, workshops and training, employment and various other avenues, making it a successful enterprise.
Many of her dance creations (she has over 40) are inspired by the colour and depth of Indian mythology; but bring out modern ideas and questions through a bold, introspective style of movement. In her continuous quest, Mayuri can play the chameleon with ease, constantly experimenting with her style.
Mayuri’s style is well grounded in Indian classical dance, is facial expressive and rhythmic in its inspiration. Her choice of costumes reflects the tasteful cultural heritage that India gives. For her, both Nritarutya and her signature freeform expression represent the- India now.
In the adaptation of themes, Mayuri is very much on the edge of her discipline, charting a fresh course through movement art.
Translating movement magic from the mind’s eye to muscle and grace – that’s the challenge and Mayuri’s descriptive, spatially demanding, thought-provoking choreography has always been equal to it: communicating directly and powerfully to varied audiences.
Mayuri’s signature works include Dwandwa, Dashavatar, Footnotes, Lakshmi and Kaali (commissioned for the Wadiyars of Mysore).
Mayuri: The journey so far …
- Initiated at the age of six
- Trained in Bharatnatyam under Guru Smt. Indira Kadambi and Smt.Minal Prabhu
- Power Yoga under Mak.Learned Kathak under Guru Kum. Jayanthi Eswarputhi
- Chaau from Tripura Kashyap
- Odissi from Sri Uday Shetty
- Kalaripayattu from Guru Ranjan Mullaratt
- Modern dance techniques under Nakula Somana
- B.A. Graduate
- Artist Management Workshop with the Arts Council, UK
Awards
- International Competition for choreography concept, South Korea (2012)
- Young Women’s Achievement Award (2004)
- RAPA Best Choreographer Award for Television Commercials, Chennai (2005)
Projects of Note
- Teaching dance to tribal children at Heggadadevankote
- 3-day Movement Workshop for Miss India Beauty Pageant participants (2003, 2004)
- One of six handpicked choreographers/dancers from India to be part of the ‘Dance Intense’ workshop at Birmingham, UK. (Aug 2006)
- Commissioned on a regular basis to choreograph dance works for Fashion Couture Designer-Hemant Trevedi
- Commissioned by Royal family of Mysore Wadiyars to create an exclusive dance work on “Kaali”.
- Performance at the Nehru Centre, London, following the Birmingham workshop (Aug 2006)
- Commissioned to choreograph a 75-member dance ensemble for the Birmingham International Dance Festival as the primary Indian representative (Apr 2008)
- Conducted a choreography design workshop on Indian modern dance for participants of Power Of Dance musical, (Leicester, UK) (2008)
- Choreographed for M.S Sathyu’s cinema on Basavi [a category of Devadasi] -IJJODDU (2009)
- Choreographed for Yogaraj Bhat’s- PANCHARANGI [Udisuve] (2010)
