Guru lakshmi Vishwanathan is a well-known personality in the cultural scene of Chennai. She belongs to a family of artists and musicians. An exponent of Bharatanatyam she has taken her dance to over fifteen countries around the world. She rep-resents the best of the Tanjore classical tradition in dance, and has crafted a style of her own, which is rich in intricate Nrtta, and original in evocative abhinaya. She is a formally-trained classical vocalist. Among the many awards she has received is the State Kalaimamani, and the national Sangeet Natak akademi award.
As a cultural ambassador of india, she has performed and conducted master classes in prestigious institutions like the Jacob’s Pillow international dance festival, the Mark Morris dance center New York, and dance india asia-Pacific Singapore.
Lakshmi is a respected scholar and erudite speaker. Her lectures, workshops, demonstrations, and extensive articles and essays in leading newspapers as well as dance portals are widely acclaimed. She is an author of three other books: Women of Pride—the Devadasi Heritage, Kapaliswara Temple, and Bharatanatyam the Tamil Heritage.
Lakshmi has served on the board of several cultural institutions, and was an elected Vice-president of the Music academy Madras. She is currently the editor of the Kalakshetra Journal.
