Prathibha Prahlad (b 1962) is a

Bharata Natyam 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 ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

, educator, choreographer, arts administrator, and author. She was the founder director of the

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 ...

Personal life

Prathiba Prahlad was born on January 29, 1969, in

Mysuru 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. Prahlad's passion for dance allegedly began at the age of four which encouraged her to first join her neighbor's dance class between ages four and eight. She began her dance journey without any formal training but with the support of her parents who realized her talent and encouraged her. She had her early training in dance under U.S Krishna Rao,

Kalanidhi Narayanan Kalanidhi Narayanan (7 December 1928 – 21 February 2016) was an Indian dancer and teacher of Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, who was the early non-devadasi girl to learn the dance form and perform it on stage in the 1930s and 194 ...

and V.S. Muthuswamy Pillai and in

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 ...

under Vempatti Chinna Satya. By the time she was 20, she was an established professional dancer. Her career has taken her to platforms all over India and to festivals in over 50 countries. Prahlad has a post-graduate degree in Mass Communications and has contributed articles to newspapers as well as producing, directing and acting in television serials. She has also authored books on dance and related subjects. Prahlad's book on Bharatnatyam was the number 2 bestseller for 10 years on Amazon after publishing and it has been reprinted various times. She is also a highly respected speaker at

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

and many more memorial talks at educational institutions.

Contributions

Prahlad founded both the Prasiddha Foundation and the Forum For Art Beyond Borders. She is artistic director and choreographer for the Prasiddha Dance Repertory and founder director of the

. She has sat on several government cultural committees and was the convener of the Culture Committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 that designed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. Prahlad has been the subject of an Indian Postal Department stamp.

Awards and titles

The Government of India awarded her the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 2016. She is also the recipient of the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for dance (2001). She has received the Karnataka State Government Award (2001), Sangeet Nritya Academy Award of Karnataka (1997) and several other awards as well * 'Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award' - presented by All-India National Unity Conference, New Delhi, 2001. * 'Kala Shiromani Puraskaar' - presented by Institute of Economic Studies, Bangalore, 2001. * 'Karnataka Kalasri' by the Sangeet Nritya Academy, Karnataka Government, 1997. * 'Mahila Shiromani' Award for excellence in Classical Dance, Shiromani Foundation, New Delhi - presented by the First Lady of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, 1995. * 'Natya Bharati' - Sri Srimukham Sree Virupaksha Vidyaranya Mahapeetam, Hampi, 1995. * 'Orissa Cine Critics Award for Best Dancer', Bhubaneswar, 1991. * 'Singaramani' - by Sur Singar Samsad, Bombay, 1987. * 'Bangalore's Woman of the Decade' award in an internet poll conducted by bangalorebuzz.com in February, 2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prahlad, Prathiba Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 1962 births Artists from Mysore Indian women choreographers Indian choreographers Indian classical choreographers Bharatanatyam exponents Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Living people Dancers from Karnataka 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Women artists from Karnataka