Sheela Chandrashekar has been in the Bharathanatyam stage for over thirty years now. Having trained initially under Smt.Krishnaveni of Mysore and Guru Late Sri V.S.Koushik of Sanatana Kalakshetra. She owes her advanced training in Bharathanatyam to Guru B.Bhanumathi along with whom she has now been in the field for over 35 years.
Apart from this, she has benefited from workshops by stalwarts in the field like Padmabhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan, Srimathi Bragha Bessel for Abhinaya, Smt.Kamala Rani and Sri N.Narayanaswamy for Nattuvangam.
On the academic front, Sheela has completed her Master’s degree in dance (Bharatanatyam) having secured first rank and Gold Medal at the Bangalore University. She is now working as a visiting faculty at the Jain University in the Department of Dance for their Post Graduation course. As a performer, Sheela has rendered over seven hundred stage performances both solo and as a member of ‘Bharatanjali’, the group dance feature of Nrithyakalamandiram. She has performed in most of the major national and international dance festivals and for numerous productions for Doordarshan. She is a part of a performing troupe ‘Aadya’ formed by three senior disciples of Guru B.Bhanumathi with a focus on the subtler and spiritual aspects of Bharathanatyam.
She has toured the UK and USA several times not only for performances, but also for cultural exchange programmes and workshops.
Sheela Chandrasekhar is appearing as one of the judges in Sri Sankara TV’s Bharatnatyam reality show “Natyaratna” where aspiring young dancers seek to showcase their talent to ascend the ladder towards wider recognition.
Glimpses from Guru. Sheela Chandrashekhar’s performance (Photo courtesy Shri. Vivek)
THARANG UTSAV 