Aparna Sindhoor (born 1970/1971) is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher from

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. She is the Artistic Director of Navarasa Natyalya Dance Theater.

Education

Sindhoor began dancing at the age of five, first learning from her mother. She trained in

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

for approximately 15 years with K. Venkatalakshamma, who emphasizes ''Abhinaya'' (facial expression) and graceful ''Jathis'' (pure dance compositions). She also studied singing and theatre. She holds a Master's degree in English, and a bachelor's degree in Dance, literature and Dramatics. She received her doctorate in "Dance, Women and Culture" from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Career and Awards

Sindhoor has given professional performances since her ''arangetram'' (graduation solo recital) in 1989. She moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1997/1998. Sindhoor founded the Navarasa Dance Theatre Sindhoor in Mysore, India, in 1991 with her husband, film director SM Raju, and fellow choreographer Anil Natyaveda. After moving to the United States, the theatre was based out of Boston, Massachusetts. In 2012, Sindhoor developed ''Encounter'', a dance-theatre performance based on a short story by Mahashweta Devi, for Navarasa. In 2013 Sindhoor choreographed "Visions of an Ancient Dreamer" for Brandeis theatre students. Sindhoor's choreography was included in Boston-based Underground Railway Theater's "A Disappearing Number" in 2014. Sindhoor's works have been showcased in the US, Canada, Germany and India, including venues and festivals such as the Jacob's Pillow, Lincoln Center, New Jersey Performance Arts Center, La Mama and New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas. She was one of the choreographers selected for the

New England Foundation for the Arts The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of six not-for-profit regional arts organizations funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and by private foundations, corporations and ind ...

’ RDDI program. In 2022 she choreographed EnActe Arts' “The Jungle Book: Rudyard Revised" in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

. She is a part time faculty member at Santa Monica College.

Awards

Sindhoor earned a Gold Medal in dance from Mysore University. In 2013, Sindhoor received the NPN Creation Funds Award for My Dear Muddu Palani. In the same year, she was also nominated for Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Choreography. In 2020 Sindhoor received $1,000 from the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund to create a digital piece of art to encourage

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

Dance theater works

* ''River Rites'' (2001) * ''A Story and A Song'' (2007) * ''Encounter'' (2012) * ''Snake and Ladder'' (2017) * ''The Vote Dance'' (2020) * ''The Naked Line'' (2021) * ''Plantation Talas'' * ''Refugee Ragas'' * ''The Hunt''

References

External links

Aparna Sindhoor's Navarasa Dance Theater

Varnam Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sindhoor, Aparna Living people Kannada people Artists from Boston Boston University alumni Bharatanatyam exponents Indian emigrants to the United States Performers of Indian classical dance Indian classical choreographers Artists from Mysore Indian women choreographers Indian choreographers Dancers from Karnataka Year of birth missing (living people) Women artists from Karnataka