Sreelakshmy Govardhanan

Sreelakshmy Govardhanan, is a Kuchipudi artiste from India. She is the disciple of Guru Sri Pasumarthy Rattaiaha Sarma. She is widely known for her grace, exquisite footwork and abhinaya (acting technique), which comes alive during her dance performances. She is trained under distinguished Gurus such as Guru Sri Pasumarthy Rattaiah Sarma, Srimati Vyjayanti Kashi and Srimati Manju Barggavee, in Kuchipudi. Sreelakshmy is one of the rare artists who have gone in search of the roots of Kuchipudi, and has been fortunate to learn it from the most authentic artist belonging to the Kuchipudi yakshagana, Sri Pasumarthy Rattaiha Sarma. Being an artist from Kerala and travelling to Kuchipudi village to learn the classical art form of Andhra and to master it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance. The art form to her is like second skin. Sreelakshmy Govardhanan is widely acclaimed for her ability to bring alive the charm and beauty of Kuchipudi. She has been described as “a dancer who has harnessed the power of Abhinaya”. Sreelakshmy has been the recipient of many coveted titles and honours such as ‘Kalashree’ from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi- state award, Binfeild Endowment from Narada Gana Sabha Chennai, Bharatham Yuva Kalakar, Kala Ratna, Singar Mani, Natya Ratna, Nalanada Nrutya Nipuna to name a few. Sreelakshmy is an empanelled artiste in ‘established’ category of Indian Council for Cultural Relations and a graded artiste of Doordarshan . Other than performing at various prestigious Indian dance festivals, she has performed on various international platforms in Netherlands, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Colombia, Jordan and Gulf countries that has earned her rave reviews. She performed in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, as the lead of the Kuchipudi team at the ‘Make In India’ program at Hannoer Messe, 2015 in Germany. She was also invited to choreograph a confluence of Indian dance for the inaugural event of ‘Marhaba NaMo in Dubai’ where Prime Minister of India visited United Arab Emirates after 34 years. She also has conceived and curated many dance related workshops and events and was the coordinator of ‘Rasavikalpam’ an annual dance workshop and National dance festival organized by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi for three consecutive years. Sreelakshmy is the founder and Director of Avantika Space for Dance, a platform dedicated to learning, performance and research. She has choreographed dance moves for the Malayalam feature film Kanyaka Talkies and Priyamanasam. Sreelakshmy is a trained professional Psychologist utilises her proficiency in dance and psychological counselling to bring a difference in her Art and also for young minds in need.

Sreelakshmy has been the recipient of many coveted titles and honours such as ‘Kalashree’ from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi- state award, Binfeild Endowment from Narada Gana Sabha Chennai, Bharatham Yuva Kalakar, Kala Ratna, Singar Mani, Natya Ratna, Nalanada Nrutya Nipuna to name a few. Sreelakshmy is an empanelled artiste in ‘established’ category of Indian Council for Cultural Relations and a graded artiste of Doordarshan. Other than performing at various prestigious Indian dance festivals, she has performed on various international platforms in Netherlands, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Colombia, Jordan and Gulf countries that has earned her rave reviews. She also performed in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, as the lead of the Kuchipudi team at the ‘Make In India’ program at Hannoer Messe, 2015 in Germany. She performed in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, as the lead of the Kuchipudi team at the ‘Make In India’ program at Hannoer Messe, 2015 in Germany. She was also invited to choreograph a confluence of Indian dance for the inaugural event of ‘Marhaba NaMo in Dubai’ where Prime Minister of India visited United Arab Emirates after 34 years.