Dr. Kalarani Ramachandran is a leading exponent of the South Indian art form, Bharatanatyam. With her performance and teaching dance career, spanning over 45 years, she is a rare phenomenon who brings a unique blend of traditional classicism combined with choreographic innovation and academic research. She has had intensive training in the essence of the Pandanallur tradition of Bharatanatyam from diverse and eminent gurus, including Sri.P.V.Chalapathy Rao of Bangalore, Guru Mrinalini Sarabhai of Darpana Academy, Ahmedabad and Sri Thanjai Arunachalam, Chennai.
As the Founder and Director of the Nrityanjali Dance Academy, she has trained and conducted Arangetrams for scores of talented young artists who are now teachers and performers across the globe. As part of the Nrityanjali Trust, she launched the Nrityotsav Dance Festival, first of its kind in Madurai, inviting leading icons of various art forms to perform and lecture.
Dr. Kalarani Ramachandran graduated in Music from Madras University and followed it with a master’s degree in Dance at M.S.University, Baroda (First Class Distinction). She learnt dance choreography and nattuvangam from Prof. Anjali Merh, Baroda University and took her passion to the next level by learning Kuchipudi from Sri.Acharyalu, Ahmedabad and Mohini Attam from Kerala Kalamandalam.
Dr. Ramachandran has performed extensively across India and Africa. She has presented papers and lecture demonstrations in Singapore, USA and Finland. She helped lead and set the dance syllabus for graduate and postgraduate levels at the Madras and Annamalai Universities. She was the visiting faculty for dance in Madras University and was the Head of the Department of Dance at Meenamuthiah College of Arts, Chennai. She was also a member of the Board of Studies at Madurai Kamaraj and Madras Universities
In the year 2000, Dr. Kalarani Ramachandran was awarded a Doctorate degree for her path breaking research on the Art of dance in post Chola Tamizhagam by Madurai Kamaraj University. She has authored three books Bharatanatyam In Tamilnadu and Thanjai Valartha Bharathakalai(in Tamil) and Road to Happy Dancing which were published and reprinted.
She resides in Chennai and presently focuses her dance teaching techniques to suit special needs children at ‘Mitra’ (NGO). She has evolved a special dance form, Nrithyobics, which blends classical Bharatanatyam with elements of Aerobics and has particularly helped senior Art lovers dance their way to fitness.
