HARIKRISHNA KALYANASUNDARAM

Harikrishna, disciple and son of Guru Kalyanasundaram hails from the family of traditional Natyacharyas (Dance teachers) representing the seventh generation of a legacy of ancestors patronised by King Serfoji of Thanjavur, the royal courts of Baroda and Ramanathapuram and which has been imparting Bharatha Natyam in traditional Tanjore style for the past 300 years, his great grand father was the illustrious Panchapagesa nattuvanar author of Abhinaya Navaneetham.

He has imbibed this great art form from his grand-father, a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Award(1979), Bharatha Vidwan Guru Kuppiah Pillai, his uncle Natya Kalanidhi, Kalaimamani( award by Govt. of Tamil Nadu) Guru A.T. Govindraj Pillai, his uncle Kaliamamani Guru T.K.Mahalingam Pillai, a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Harikrishna had his initial training under his elder cousin Guru G. Vasanth Kumar, and also imbibed the art from his elder cousin Guru M. Vishwanath after which he underwent rigorous training under his illustrious father, Natya Kalanidhi Guru Kalyanasundaram, a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award(1999-2000).

Some important performances in India :

The Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram.The Oppilliyappan Temple, Kumbakonam. The Tripureshwari Temple, Tripura. The Uday Shankar Centenary Celebrations, Nehru Centre, Mumbai. (this show was jointly hosted by the Cultural Ministry, Govt Of Maharashtra). Natyanjali Dance Festival, Chidambaram. Swar lahari, Tejpal Auditorium, Mumbai. South Zone Cultural Festival, Thanjavur. The ABHAI Festival, Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai. (most unique feature of this performance was, he represented the sixth generation of the legacy of Thanjavur Parampara, that evening which also had the performances of Shri VP Dhananjayan, Sri CV Chandrasekhar and Sri Narasimhachari). NRITYA PRATIBHA FESTIVAL, New Delhi organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Some important performances Abroad:

The Parampara A legacy - At JamesArmstrong Theatre, Los Angeles .

Gifted and versatile, Harikrishna co choreographed and conducted (nattuvangam) a ballet production Bhagavad Gita by Shakti dance Academy, Los Angeles, in more than 8 cities in United States Of America and Canada, including the prestigious Lincoln Centre, at New York.

Press:

It was heartening to see young Harikrishna, son and disciple of Guru Kalyanasundaram of Rajarajeswari school present a couple of items with lot of commitment to their artistic lineage.

THE HINDU , Smt Nandini Ramani

Evoking Nataraja, a special feature on the commitment of Indian male dancers from different dance styles and photography, a dramatic synthesis of two incredible art forms and a celebration of their common commitment to aesthetics. L'Officiel A French Fashion magazine …The scenes and dances were choreographed by Viji Prakash,her daughter Mythili, herself an eminent dancer, and visiting artists Ajit Bhaskaran Daas, Malaysia and Harikrishna Kalyanasundaram from Rajarajeswari School , Mumbai. India West

Notable among his compositions being performed are a jathiswaram in ragam Charukesi set to misra chappu, a pushpanjali in ragam Gambira nattai and set to sankeerna chapu and a ragamalika thillana, in misra chapu. He is credited for composing and choreographing a thematic presenation Vaishnava janatho The Ne Kahiye which had its maiden performance in the Tejpal Hall, Mumbai, 2006.

His latest composition on Lord Rama, a kavuthvam, was performed and also discussed at length at the Natya Kala conference 2005 in Chennai held at Krishna Gana Sabha. This is the first time that a work of the youngest member from a Nattuvanar family was staged and received the popular approval of the vidwans and connoisseurs of the art in Chennai.

Harikrishna holds the unique distinction of having performed a rare triple feat at the highest level as a mridanga vidwan, as a solo classical dancer and also as a nattuvanar(weilding the cymbals & dance choregraphy)in prestigious festivals in various cities in India and abroad, many at different dates but at the same venue, Natyanjali Chidambaram, Thanjavur Brihadeeshwara temple, South Zone Cultural Centre, important temple festivals in Kumbakonam, various venues in New Delhi and Mumbai and also in many cities in the United States of America .

Harikrishna is a commerce graduate from the R.A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics. , and has done a diploma course in Sanskrit from the Mumbai University .Harikrishna is undergoing intensive training in vocals under the guidance of Smt. Alamelu Mani, of the Sangeeta Kalanidhi Smt. T Brinda school. Harikrishna is also a talented mridangist, Initiated at the age of 4 to undergo intensive training in mridangam, under the great Mridanga Vidwan Karaikudi Chandramouli,in Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha from 1980. Harikrishna under the guidance of his Guru emerged as one of the promising talents of the future. A Gold medallist in the West Zone Inter School Competition, he was the youngest to perform at the prestigious Raj Bhavan for the Governor of Maharastra ,along with a Czech violinist, at the age of 17. For the past seventeen years, he has been a regular feature of the Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir troupe, accompanying his father Guru Kalyanasundaram, on the mridangam. He has performed at all major festivals of India , to name a few The Sangeet Natak Akademi awardees Festival, New Delhi , The Dover Lane Music Conference, Calcutta, The ITC Festival, Madras, the Pune Festival, Nritya Sangam, Hyderabad, Kinkini Festival, Bangalore, The Goa Tourism Festival, The Jammu Festival of Music & Dance, The Modhera Festival Of Dance, The Heritage Festival, Tripura. Has regularly toured the abroad for the past ten years at major centres of arts in more than 25 cities in USA and Canada, Singapore, Nairobi and Qatar.. Currently, Harikrishna is pursuing advanced studies in Sanskrit under Prof PG Shukla, and will be writing his Kovid in Sanskrit literature and Bhagavad Gita, at the Bharathiya Vidya bhavan.

Harikrishna is a gifted and talented young choreographer, composer, mridangist and nattuvanar belonging to the seventh generation of this great Thanjavur Parampara. Harikrishna is ably assisted by his wife Smt. Vidya Harikrishna who is an upcoming and versatile carnatic vocalist and is also the lead singer of the Kala Mandir.