Arunima Kumar,

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

Yuva Puraskar awardee for the year of 2008 for

Kuchipudi Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...

. As a young girl of 9, Arunima acted in the ballet Amrapali. Th
Kuchipudi Dance Academy
formally launched her in 1995 where she performed her Arangetram at the

Triveni Kala Sangam Triveni Kala Sangam is an important cultural and arts complex and education centre in New Delhi. Founded in 1950, by Sundari K. Shridharani, who was also its Founding Director, Triveni, as it is commonly referred, contains four art galleries, a ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

About

Arunima is a

dancer and a recipient of

's ( India's national academy set-up by the Republic of India) prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskaar for 2008. Currently she lives in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and is working as a HR Consultant at Aricent Group.

Start of career

Arunima started learning

at the age of 7 and had her initial training under Padma Bhushan Smt Swapna Sundari. She is a senior disciple of Padmashree Gur
JayaRama Rao and Vanasree Rao
and has been performing for over 15 years. As a young girl of 9, Arunima acted in the ballet Amrapali. The

Dance Academy formally launched her in 1995 where she performed her Rangapravesham at the Triveni Kala Sangam,

. From then on Arunima pursued her art and has given several national and international performances at prestigious cultural festivals and venues.

Notable performances

Her notable performances include the

Rashtrapati Bhawan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

(President House, Delhi),

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

, Canberra Festival,

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially some 40 million people were expe ...

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

and

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Nehru Center in London
Tagore Center in Berlin, Asian Arts Festival in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Convention in USA in 2008, Hyderabad Arts Festival,

Festival etc. She has also performed in several ballets like the, Chitrangada Ballet, where she played the role of Chitrangada;

Nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the ''Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married prince ...

Damayanti, where she played the role of Damayanti Arunima has also been recognized with the Sahitya Kala Parishad Scholarship for Dance in 1998 and the Shringarmani title by Sur Shringar Samsad in 2001. She is empanelled as an Established artiste with the I.C.C.R. Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs and is an A grade artiste of the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

and

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

Education

Besides dance, Arunima has also done good in academics. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from India's prestigious St. Stephen's College and then studied

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in Finance and Accounting from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. She is also a keen pistol shooter and has won several medals in State and National Championships and is also the recipient of the Government of India Sports Talent Search Scholarship (1991–1992)...

Film, television and radio broadcasts and appearances

She is keenly interested in dramatics and has acted in a number radio and television programs Yog Yatra o
Star News
music videos

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

, advertisements and short films Documentary on New Delhi, International film,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Globus Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to: Business * Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA * Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store * Globus (company), a Swiss department store chai ...

. She has recently done a cameo in a feature film directed by

Prakash Jha Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as “Hip Hip Hurray” (1984), ''Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand'' (1997), ''Gangaaja ...

– Rajneeti.

continues to be her abiding passion, which she pursues with relentless devotion. Endowed with "a pair of large eyes, a mobile visage and attractive stage presence". Arunima is a devoted dancer with a promising career ahead. Arunima Kumar

Key achievements and work

Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar is an annual Indian award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi to outstanding artists under 40 who have demonstrated talent in the fields of music, dance and drama. The award is intended to provide national reco ...

conferred by

, 2009 * Sahitya Kala Parishad Scholarship for Dance in 1998. * Shringarmani title by Sur Shringar Sansa, 2004. * She was invited to perform for the Hon'ble

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

in June, 2006. * Established Category Artist by th
ICCR
* A grade artiste' of the

and

* Performed with over 400 dancers to break th
Guinness book of World Records
in

Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, 2008 * New Choreography – wit
Fusion band ADVAITA
* Outstanding reviews and dynamic profile have been featured in all leading television and radio channels (

, Sony,

Aaj Tak ''Aaj Tak'' () is an Indian Hindi-language news channel owned by TV Today Network, part of the New Delhi-based media conglomerate Living Media group (India Today Group) Aaj Tak HD On 14 December 2018, Aaj Tak launched India's first Hindi h ...

, Star News etc.) and newspapers including

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busine ...

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...

etc., * She features in the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Newsletter for her outstanding performance at the

Nehru Centre Nehru Centre is a centre to promote the teachings and ideals of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, through educational and cultural programmes in the city of Mumbai, India. The Centre organises scientific, cultural and educat ...

at London * In an endeavor to share the joy of being closely involved with India's rich cultural heritage, she also worked for SPICMACAY, a voluntary cultural organisation as its Planning and Finance coordinator. * She is also an active sponsor and member of GATI, a young dancers' forum. * She is building her own arts foundation to promote arts amongst youth, conceptualize and implement projects in the field of outreach – ARTS EXTEND - to promote peace and harmony across small towns and villages. * She was also a speaker at Bridge India's webinar "Cultural diffusion across closed borders: India's Cultural Diplomacy in a lockdown" on Wednesday 1 July.

Notable international performances

* Indian Cultural Center,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, February 2010 * KL Convention Center,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, February 2010

Recent performances in Europe

* Nehru Centre, London, July 2009 *

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, London, July 2009 part of Akademi's Frame by Frame Seminar * Dance India at

Lowry Lowry may refer to: People * Calvin Lowry (born 1983), American football player * Dave Lowry (born 1965), Canadian ice hockey player * Desiree Lowry (born 1972), Puerto Rican beauty pageant titleholder * Hiram Harrison Lowry (1843–1924), Amer ...

, Salford, August 2009 * India Centre, Cardiff, August 2009 * Purcell Room, Southbank Center, 'Daredevas', November 2009 Upcoming performances in UK- * Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, UK, March 2010 * University of Manchester, March 2010 * Expo 1998, Lisbon, Portugal * India's 50th year of Independence held in Bonn, Germany *

, Hannover, Germany *

ICCR The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 Apri ...

tour in 2003, Ministry of External Affairs of India, in prestigious venues in Australia, including Canberra Festival, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne, Brisbane. * ICCR tour Fiji, 2003 * Arts Festival Thailand, ICCR tour 2003 * Arts Festival Malaysia, ICCR tour 2003 * International Festival, Indonesia, 2004 * Asian Arts Festival, Manila, Philippines, 2007 * India Week Celebrations at Nuremberg and Frankfurt, 2005 * Tagore International Centre in Berlin in 2005 * Nehru Centre in London, 2001, 2005 * International Kuchipudi Dance Convention in Cupertino, California in 2008. * Diwali Celebrations in London, Trafalgar Square from TAL dance group Southern Spice 2016 * Bloomsbury Festival, London 2016

Notable performances in India

* Amrapali ballet, 1987 * Rangapravesham at the Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, 1998 * Hyderabad Arts Festival * India Habitat Centre, 1998, 1999, 2003 * India International Trade Fair 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006 * SOPAN festival by Sahitya Kala Parishad * Delhi Tourism Festival at Santushti 2003 * Bharat Yatra Festival in lucknow 2001 * Shringaramani Festival in Mumbai 2001 * Kuchipudi dance festival in Kuchipudi Village * National Choreography Festival at Habitat Centre 2003 * Qutab Festival in 2003 * Young Dancers Festival at Kolkata sponsored by Sangeet Natak Academy in 2004 * Legends of India Festival at

Kamani Auditorium Kamani may refer to: Places * Pobiti Kamani or ''Pobitite Kamani'', a rock phenomenon in Varna Province, Bulgaria * Kamani, Bhamo, a village in north-eastern Burma * Kamani, Iran, a village in Hamadan Province, Iran * Kamani, Georgia, a village ...

, Delhi, 2004 * Kalidasa Festival at Nagpur in 2004 * India International Center, 2004 * Habitat World in September 2005 * Virasat Festival at Dehradun in 2005 * The Mardol Classical Dance Festival at Goa, 2006 * Goa International Centre in 2006 * Biotech Conference in Hyderabad in 2006 * Nehru Centre in Mumbai in 2006 * Pratishtitha Festival where she played the role of Chitrangada in 'Chitrangada' Ballet, Habitat Center, 2006 * Ugaadi (AP Bhawan) Celebrations in 2006 * Jhansi Mahostav in 2006 * Chamba festival in 2006 * Mammalapuram festival in Chennai in 2007 * Jugalbandi with Kathak, choreographed by Pdt. Birju Maharaj at Holi Ke Rang Mahotsav (sponsored by Kalashram) at Habitat Centre in March, 2007 * Budh Mahotsav in Patna, May 2007 (where she performed the dance ballet Vasavadatta on Rabindra Sangeet Choreographed by her gurus) * Jaya Samiti in Mumbai in June 2007 organised by

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

* Radha Asthami in Barsana, September 2007 * Indo-European Conference organized by ICCR, September 2007 * Fusion concert with Rock Band Advaita, September 2007 * Sahitya Kala Parishad young dancer's Festival, September 2007 * Neemrana Fort Palace in Oct 2007 * SAARC Band festival November 2007 * JNU Delhi November 2007, 2008 *

Delhi International Arts Festival The Delhi International Arts Festival is an annual arts festival which takes place in Delhi, India. It presents artistic performances from around the world. History The Delhi International Arts Festival was founded in 2007 as a private-public partn ...

December 2007 * HCL concert series, December 2007 * Haridas Sammelan, Mumbai, December 2007 * Legends of India Festival at Nehru Center, Mumbai, 2007 * Brahma Gana Sabha in Chennai January 2008 * Nungambakkam Cultural Academy in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, January 2008 * Bhavbhuti Festival -

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

, February 2008 * Ustad Allauddin Khan Samaoroh – Mahiyar,

, February 2008 * Nal Damyanti Ballet at Akhil Bhartiya Mahakavi Shri Harsh Samaroh,

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, March 2008 *

India International Trade Fair The India International Trade Fair, ever since its inception in 1980, has evolved as a major event for the business community. It is a premier event organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization, the nodal trade promotion agency of the ...

( Shakuntalam Theatre) on 20 November 2008 * State Day Celebrations at Andhra Bhawan, November, 2008 *

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Air Force Station, Officer's Mess,

Lohegaon Lohagaon (''Lohagāva'') (Marathi: लोहगाव) is a neighbourhood in northeast Pune, India. There is a grand temple of Shri Sant Tukaram Maharaj in Lohagaon. A big kirtan festival is celebrated every year and a big fair is held. Shiva Ja ...

on 14 January 2009 * World Dance Day Celebrations, Habitat Center, May, 2009 * World Dance Day celebrations, India International Center, sponsored by Natya Vriksha, May 2009 * Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskaar Samaroh, Sangeet Natak Academy, Delhi, September 2009 * Durga Puja Celebrations,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, September 2009 * Khajuraho Dance Festival February 2010

References

External links

* * * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Arunima Indian female classical dancers Living people 1978 births Kuchipudi exponents Performers of Indian classical dance Dancers from Delhi Women artists from Delhi