Dance:

• Senior disciple of Late Kalaimamani Guru T.K. Mahalingam Pillai, of the Raja Rajeswari Bharatanatya Kalamandir.
• Master’s degree in Bharata Natyam from University of Bombay; at Nalanda Nrityakala Mahavidyalaya.
• Training in Mohiniattam from Padmabhushan Guru Dr. [Smt] Kanak Rele.
• Attended Workshops of Abhinaya, Padams and Javali singing conducted by Padmabhushan Late Guru Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan.

Music:

• Training in Carnatic music from Late Shri.A.S.Panchapakesha Iyer.
• Training in voice culture from Padmashri Smt. Aruna Sayeeram.
• Training in veena from Late Smt Mangalam Muttuswamy.
• Training in mridangam from Shri K. V. Maniappan and Late Shri N.H.Jayaram.
• Bachelors Degree in Carnatic Music from University of Madras.
• Trained in Pallavi singing from Late P.N.Krishnamoorthy.
• Continuing to study music under Smt. Radha Namboodiri.
• Master’s degree in Carnatic Music from University of Madras.
• Training in flute from Smt. Mahalakshmi Ravi.

Work Experience:

• Trained and worked as a dance teacher in Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir for 14 years.
• Served as a lecturer in Nalanda Nrityakala Mahavidyalaya for 3 years.
• Completed 37 years as a Dance teacher. Teaching the Tanjore style of Bharatanatyam as taught at the Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir.
• Teaching Carnatic music for the past 27 years.
• Successfully guiding students for the Nritya Visharad and Nritya Alankar examinations of the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalay Mandal Miraj.
• Successfully guiding students for the BA and MA exams in Bharatanatyam of the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune.
• Presently teaching Carnatic Music, Bharatanatyam and Nattuvangam through Skype to students in UK, USA, Norway and Netherlands.
• Examiner for Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune University since 2009.
• Consultant, Bharatanatyam & Carnatic Music, SAMVED Conservatory of Indian Classical Dance and Music, New Jersey USA since 2012.
• Choreographed and presented more than 200 pieces in Bharatanatyam.
• Presented dance productions such as:
  - Ramayana (1997, 2000, 2005),
  - Jagruti [A dance drama on women’s empowerment] (2000),
  - Belief, A fusion dance program with co-artistes such as Taufiq Qureshi, Louis Banks, Roop Kumar Rathod,
    Sonali Rathod(2006),
  - Singara Velan (2013),
  - Shiva Anandam (2014),
  - Harihara Sutane Ayyappa (2014) etc.
  
• Lec-Dems at places such as Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune; Kalakshetra, Detroit USA, and on Skype for foreign based students.
• Travelling abroad to teach and propagate the art forms of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic Music.
• Teaching Veena.

Awards:

• Title Natya Kala Saraswati by the Natyanjali Trust Chennai, on 29th July 1998.
• Awarded the Best Teacher by the Kalavardhini Charitable Trust Mumbai, on 30th Jan 2000.
• Title Nritya Kala Sagar by the Nateshwar Nritya Kala Mandir on 15th June 2005.
• Title Nritya Shiromani by the Shivali Cultural Society, on 7th Sept 2006.
• Title Vidya Vibhushan by the Swar Sadhana Samiti on 19th March 2009.
• Felicitated by the Patel Cultural Foundation in 2013.
• Awarded the title Rashtra Vibhushan by FACE India on September 28 2014.
• Felicitated by Nateshwar Nrityakala Mandir, on 2nd December 2015.
• Awarded the title Rashtra Vibhuti by GOAL society, New Delhi on 18th June 2016.
• Awarded the ‘FAME Award of Excellence’ by FAME India, New Delhi on 24th July, 2016.

Achievements:

• 5 students have won the title SINGARMANI from the Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai, from 1995 onwards.
• Several students have other titles. In Mumbai: Nritya Shivali – Shital Ravi – 1994
  Pandit Brijnarain Puraskar – Shital Ravi- 1995
  For the First rank in Visharad exams: Pandit Shankarrao
  Modak Puraskar – Shital Ravi – 1998
  Nritya Shivali – Sulochana Sarma (UK) – 2003
  Nritya Shivali – Aparna Achuthan – 2008
  In Chennai: Natya Mayuri – Shital Ravi – 1999
  Natya Kala Ratna – Sulochana Sarma (UK) – 2003
  In Cuttack: Nritya Shiromani – Prachi Saathi – 2012
  Nritya Shiromani – Sulochana Sarma (UK) – 2012
  
• 5 students are graded artistes of Mumbai Doordarshan.
• 2 students have been awarded the senior scholarship of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• 5 have been awarded the junior scholarship of the CCRT.
• Several students have won the first prize and trophies in several national level competitions.
• Teaching music, dance and nattuvangam through Skype to students in UK, USA, Bangkok, Norway and Netherlands.
• Performed the arangetram of Skype students in Bharatanatyam and nattuvangam in Cupertino, California, USA on 18th August 2014.
• Nrityasudha Fine Arts arranged and successfully conducted a Charity Show in April 2015 and presented a purse of Rs.25000/- to Jankalyan Seva Ashram, Panvel
• Recently, my student Prachi Saathi has been awarded the title Nalanda Nritya Nipuna at the Nrityotsava 2016 in January; in Mumbai.
• She has also been awarded the Sundarisamrat Yuva Puraskar on 6th February 2016 at Sholapur.
• Nrityasudha Fine Arts successfully conducts an annual workshop for the students of B.Ed College in Juhu, Mumbai beginning from 14th March 2016.

Vision:

Though I am deeply rooted in the spirituality of these divine art forms of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music, I have been conceptualizing and choreographing innovative themes. I aim to educate the younger generation in the finer aspects of these beautiful traditional art forms in all their purity as handed down to me by my Gurus in the true Guru-Shishya Parampara so that they imbibe the social values associated with our classical art forms. Bharatanatyam allows for innumerable innovations and creativity within its framework, so, while staying true to tradition I have also used technology and modern day conveniences to showcase, present and teach these traditional art forms.

Address:

7/379, Matunga Vasudha co-op hsg soc,
Sri Shankaramatham road, Matunga (E),
Mumbai – 400-019.

Tel: 022- 24016272
Mob: 09820221526
Email: gurulataraman@yahoo.co.in
           gurulataraman@yahoo.co.in
Website: http://www.lataraman.com/