Born in Moodabidri, in South Canara to Late Shri P. Nagaraj and Smt.Varada Devi, Vasundhara made her acquaintance with Bharatanatyam at the tender age of 4 under the guidance of Muralidhar Rao and has never looked back. She was a gold medalist at the age of 5 at the state level competition, which highlighted her unlimited potential and prompted her parents to seek out the supervision of Late Shri Rajaratnam Pillai the student of Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, who continued in the role of her Guru. Vasundhara, through her dedicated training claimed 1st rank in Vidwath Examination conducted by Karnataka Secondary Education Board and 3 consecutive gold medals in State Youth Festivals.
Vasundhara’s marriage to Late Sri H.S.Doraswamy brought her to the princely city of Mysore. The support and encouragement of her husband and family helped her achieve new heights in her artistic quest.
Vasundhara in addition to her achievements in Bharatanatyam over the journey has made additional contributions in terms of multiple productions which have won accolades from renowned critics and has also published papers in the below streams.
- Yoga and Bharatanatyam – Interdependence [secured a Doctorate]
- Folklore impacts on traditional Indian dances.
Annual Festivals
Over the past 3 decades, Vasundhara Performing Arts Centre has been conducting four Classical Music and Dance Festivals presenting a smorgasbord of imminent and eminent artistes to the connoisseurs of Art in the city of Mysore
PALLAVOTHSAVA For the Young upcoming Artists
NATARAJAOTHSAVA For the Male and Couple Dancers
PARANGOTHSAVA For established and renowned Artists of National & International Stature
CHIGURU SANJE A festival of Classical Dance for the children below twelve years
Vasundhara Performing Arts Centre feels honored and privileged to have presented more than Ten Thousand Junior & Senior Artists of National and International repute. Felicitations of Senior Artists are done by offering Gold Medal and conferring the below Titles:
Srutisagar for Music
Nritya Sundari for Dance
Vidyasagar for Literature
Performances & Lecture Demonstrations
Vasundhara has been extensively preforming and conducting workshops/ lecture demonstrations for the past four decades, she has turned into a phenomenon through her performances both in India and abroad including the prestigious UNESCO world peace conference. She has been travelling to the US for the past 10 years to perform and teach. Dr. Doraswamy is a visiting guest professor at Alabama University.Academic qualifications and other prominent roles
Academic qualifications and other prominent roles
- M.A in Folklore - University of Mysore.
- Doctorate in Yoga and Bharatanatyam - ICCI, Madras.
- "A" Grade artist of Doordarshan - India.
- First Rank - Vidwat in Bharatanatyam - Karnataka.
- Member - Audition Committee of Doordarshan Kendra
- Advisor - Mysore University Selection Committee for Dance
- Member - Expert Committee for Bharatanatyam, Department of Culture, Govt. of India.
Thesis
In 1990, Vasundhara received a Doctorate for her exclusive study on the correlation between Bharatanatyam and Yoga.
Community Work
In addition to grooming hundreds of young talents into professional dancers, the institute offers scholarships to deserving students.She has performed for numerous charity organisations regularly in the past and has worked successfully a production for the blind and recently with the physically and mentally challenged kids.
Folk connection
Having majored her Master's degree in Folklore – Vasundhara has been able to creatively amalgamate Yakshagana folk music into her production ‘Panchali’ and is currently working on publishing a paper on Folk dances of India.
Productions
Group productions
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Manmatha Dahana A Dance Drama detailing the story of the burning of Manmatha.
Ramayana A dance drama depicting the story of Lord Rama from his birth to his Coronation.
Shakuntala Narration of Kalidasa’s Shakuntala through Dance.
Sapthagireesha Panigrahana A dance drama unfolding the events leading to the wedding of Vishnu and Padmavathi.
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Vasundhara Kanda Kaarantha This was a Group production by students of Vasundhara Performing Arts Centre, involving various facets of Art like music, dance and drama based on the works of Jnanapith Awardee and famous kannada writer Shivarama Karanth.
Krishna Tula Bara A Dance drama narrating the story of Sri Krishna Tula Bhara performed by Satyabhama and Rukmini.
Rani Kayikeyi A dance feature based on Sri Ramayana Darshanam by another Jnanapith Awardee and famous kannada poet Kuvempu.
Vidyunmadanika A Group choreography where the Sculptor Jakkannachari sees his Sculptures come to life and dance with Lord Chennakeshava.
Suryanamaskara An innovative group choreography combining Yoga and dance in praise of the Sun God, showing the correlation between the two.
Discovery of India This group production was based on Nehru’s Discovery of India choreographed to commemorate 50 years of Indian Independence.
Shive Shiva Navarasa A dance drama narrating the events leading to the display of the Navarasas in Lord Shiva and Godess Parvathi.
Gaana Nrutyanjali Dance choreography to the karnatic music from the basics of learning to the complex compositions of a recital.
Hoysala Vaibhava A dance drama on the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana and his queen Natyarani Shakuntala and their contribution to the development of Dance.
ChalukyaVaibhava A dance drama narrating the grandeur of the Chalukya dynasty and its ruler King Pulikesi.
Durga This is a group choreography narrating the story of GodessDurga bringing an end to the terrorizing demon king – Mahishasura.
Gurubhyo Namaha This is another innovative choreography bringing together Dance, Yoga and the martial art form of Kalaripayattu.
Solo Productions
Panchali A narration of the ordeal of a woman Panchali- This choreography saw the coming together of Yakshagana music and Bharatanatyam.
Soundarya Lahari This is dance feature based on Shankaracharya’s Soundarya Lahari.
Ganga Lahari This choreography was a detailed narration of the story of Ganga.
Shakuntakunjana A solo choreography on the story of Shakuntala.
Ambe A solo dance feature narrating the story of the Queen Ambe who is seen voicing her opinion in the male dominated world.
Dakshayini A beautiful narration of the humiliation of Dakshayini who jumps into the holy fire and sacrifices herself. These solo productions are the literary masterpieces of Sri Udyavara Madhva Acharya.