Skip links
Contact us
Shivalayam Dance Academy

"Guśabdastvandhakāraḥ syāt ruśabdastannirodhakaḥ,
Andhakāranirodhitvāt gururityabhidhīyate"

The syllable "Gu" means darkness and ignorance. The syllable 'Ru' means eradication of darkness or ignorance. Because of the power to dispel darkness, the guru is thus named.

Indian classical art forms have followed the Guru-Shishya Parampara from time immemorial. Dhanalakshmi attributes all her success and achievements to her Gurus and teachers who have always been a ray of enlightenment to her.

Nadanamani Guru Cheyyar K Manoju Kumar

Guru K Manoju Kumar from Cheyyar is the founder of Shri Kalaipriya Nadana Kalaa Nilayam, later renamed as Kalaikudil School of Dance. He is the disciple of (late) Nadanamani Guru M K Devaraj, Chennai. He has been training young dancers for the past four decades and has a whooping 35+ number of Shishyas who have become dance teachers and instructors.

He has been conferred the title of “Nadanamani” by Aarani Kailaayanadar Kovil Sammelanam. Cheyyar Mutthamizh Sangam conferred upon him the title of “Ezhuchimigu Kalaignan.” Apart from Bharatanatyam, he is also an exponent of Indian folk dances and has choreographed many dance recitals. In the year 2000-2001, his students were conferred the title of “Dhayaa Rajini 25” in a Tamil Nadu-level Bharatanatyam competition.

Guru Manoju Kumar has been a well-wisher and a mentor through Dhanalakshmi’s preliminary years of training.

Dr Himaja Athul Kumar

Dr Himaja is the Disciple of Kalaimamani Dr Uma Anand (Dandayuthapani), the well-known Bharathanatya exponent. Dr Himaja had her Arangetram in Jan 1983 after 7 years of training from Smt.Sudharani Raghupathy. She has been running the Dance school ‘Bharatham’ from the year 1996 and training many young artists.

Bharatham has been affiliated with The Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University. She holds a Masters degree in dance from Annamalai University and a doctorate from Madurai Kamaraj University. She is a Lecturer for Bharatanatyam at Thamizh Isai Kalloori. She is the Joint Secretary of Prayathnam – a Forum of Dance Teachers.

Dr Himaja constantly strives to mentor young artists, encourage them and guide them to achieve excellence.

Special Thanks

Smt. Nandhini Ramani

Smt. Nandini Ramani is a senior Bharatanatyam exponent having trained under the legendary Smt. T. Balasarawati and Nattuvanar Sri K. Ganesan. She is a well known Bharatanatyam Artist, Teacher, Dance critic and writes on various topics of Performing Art and Culture. She is a recipient of the Award from Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. Presently, she is the Executive Board Member of Sangeet Natak Akademi. She carries her work with multifaceted interest in the field of Performing Arts, Indian Culture and Heritage.

Dhanalakshmi feels extremely fortunate to have associated with her as she has been a mentor and guide par excellence. Be it exclusive dance related books, material or networking with artists, she has been kind enough to extend her selfless help and guidance to Dhanalakshmi.

Dr V V Meenakshi Jayakumar

Prof Dr V V Meenakshi Jayakumar is currently heading the Tamil Isai Kalloori as Principal at Raja Annamalai Mandram, Chennai. With years of expertise, she has guided students to pursue MA., MPhil., and Doctorates in Music and Bharatanatyam. She is the recipient of the prestigious Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Award for best teacher and the Bharathi Sevvai Semmal Award. Dhanalakshmi expresses her heartfelt gratitude to Meenakshi Mam for being a guiding light and assisting in her journey of training young artists.

The journey of learning, exploring and proliferating the art form would be impossible without the enlightening teachings of her mentors. Dhanalakshmi expresses her unfeigned gratitude and Pranams to Dr Guru Bharadwaaj, Dr Divyasena, and Smt Archana Mahesh, who have constantly stood by her side and helped her excel in her field.

× Live Chat