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Mythili Kumar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mythili Kumar is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She performs the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi styles of Indian classical dance.[1] She is the founder of Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose[2][3] and a lecturer in dance at University of California, Santa Cruz.[4]

Biography

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As founder and director of Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose since 1980,[1][5] Kumar has trained and presented over one hundred dancers in their solo debuts and has collaborated extensively with several multi-cultural organizations.[6] She has also taught classes at San Jose State University and Stanford University.[4]

Kumar's two daughters, Rasika and Malavika, are active in the dance company and have been trained in classical Indian dance since age 4.[7]

Collaborative performances include:

  • The Guru with Kathak maestro Chitresh Das and his dance company
  • In the Spirit (1993) with Japanese drumming corps San Jose Taiko, with Margaret Wingrove and her modern dance company
  • The Ramayana (1997) with the Balinese music and dance ensemble Gamelan Sekar Jaya
  • Vande Mataram - Mother, I bow to thee (1997) featuring three different Indian classical dance styles
  • The Power of Saturn (1999) with Shadow Master Larry Reed and Shadow Light Productions
  • Gandhi - the Mahatma (1995) for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco

Awards

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In 2010, Kumar was awarded the Malonga Casquelourd Lifetime Achievement Award by San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.[6] She received the choreographer's fellowships from 1989 until 1993 and a teacher's recognition certificate in 1998 from the National Endowment for the Arts.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "San Jose South Indian Dancer and Teacher Honored for Lifetime Service". KQED Arts. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  2. ^ Howard, Rachel (April 9, 2015) [April 9, 2015]. "San Jose South Indian Dancer and Teacher Honored for Lifetime Service | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Ts'ao, Aimée (October 31, 2018). "Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose focuses new work on Martin Luther King Jr". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  4. ^ a b c "Mythili Kumar". UC Santa Cruz, Theatre Department. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  5. ^ "Passions: Mountain View woman is software engineer, also classical Indian dancer". The Mercury News. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  6. ^ a b "Custodians of Tradition - India Currents". India Currents. 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  7. ^ "Dance company kicks off its 30th anniversary season celebration". The Mercury News. 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2017-09-07.

Notes

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