Shilpa Krishnan represents Bharata Natyam as a vibrant and
meaningful dance form of today to her audience. She hails from Kenya and is presently living in
the United States.
Shilpa Krishnan
began her studies in dance at the age of four training under her mother
and Guru, Smt. Gita Umesh of the
Pandannalur School in Nairobi, Kenya and later under Guru Rajaratnam Pillai of the Vazhuvoor School.
Last year, she underwent further training under the very well reknowned Guru, Smt. Rajee Narayanan in Mumbai.
Performing
for the first time in Nairobi, Kenya when she was seven, Shilpa has
been dancing for more than 20 years to a diverse audience in cities in
Africa (Nairobi & Eldoret) Kenya;
Harare Zimbabwe; Goa, Mumbai and Chennai, India and various cities in the United States.
A firm believer in the continuity of the Indian
classical tradition, She has the unique ability to stick to the "Sampradaya" of
Bharata Natyam, yet bring non-specialist viewers close to its heartbeat
by making every moment personal, spontaneous and even contemporary.
She has won numerous awards in competitions in
Nairobi, Kenya where she grew up and has been involved in the
choreography of several productions, such as “Moods of Love”,
a production portraying the cyclical nature of a woman’s thought
process as she goes through the ups and downs of being in love. She has
also collaborated with other dancers in Ft. Lauderdale for a fund-raiser
to benefit asian women in distress in a production entitled "A
Woman Speaks". The production was a classic fusion presentation
of BharataNatyam and was very well received by the audience.
Shilpa lives in
the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area in Davie, Florida where she teaches
Bharatanatyam.