Urmila Satyanarayanan
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan
“The Music Academy’s Nritya Kalanidhi award comes at an important stage of my life — it has been 50 years since my arangetram and 30 years of my dance school Natya Sankalpaa,” says Bharatanatyam exponent Urmila Satyanarayanan. The happiness, she says, is manifold, because her mother, who introduced her to this art form, is around to share this moment.
The dancer at her residence in Chennai.
| Photo Credit:
K.V. Srinivasan
Looking back at her journey, Urmila says this recognition is a culmination of her parents’ dreams. Her bond with the art form began at Saraswathi Gana Nilayam, the dance school run by Ranganayaki Jayaraman. Her talent was fine-tuned under the tutelage of two other stalwarts K.N. Dhandayuthapani Pillai and K.J. Sarasa.
“Guru K.N. Dhandayuthapani Pillai’s classes were extremely enjoyable, and I imbibed whatever was taught to me. He was the guru for some leading stars of the celluloid world. I was fascinated by how he could spontaneously choreograph songs. My arangetram took place at the age of 10, and I knew this was going to be my calling.”
Urmila Sathyanarayanan performing at Narada Gana Sabha during the December festival in 2011.
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: The Hindu Archives
After some time, Urmila came under the tutelage of K.J. Sarasa, who played a major role in her progress. “She did not change the basics of my earlier training. She chiselled my art through rigorous practice, discipline and commitment. Under her watchful eyes, she also allowed me to improvise,” recalls Urmila.
It was during this period that opportunities for performing began to come Urmila’s way. “They played a major role in shaping my stage presentation technique.”
Urmila Sathyanarayanan performing her thematic production ‘Meera’ at Bharat Kalachar’s Margazhi Utsavam in 2014.
| Photo Credit:
S.R. Raghunathan
The urge to teach young enthusiasts led Urmila to launch Natya Sankalpaa, which initially operated from a friend’s garage before moving into its own premises. “I enjoy the process of training children. It also helps me update my knowledge. When I was learning we hardly had any distractions and only focussed on perfecting our art. Today, we constantly have to adapt teaching methodology to suit the needs of the present generation, which has to juggle many things. For instance, instead of attending separate classes, they now have the advantage of learning dance, music, theory and yoga in the same institution. I have been fortunate to have excellent dancers as faculty members, who are my pillars of support,” shares Urmila.
Talking about the changing nature of rehearsals and performances, Urmila points out how musicians were employed full time at her vadhyar’s class. “We used to practise with live music. Today, getting musicians for one rehearsal itself is a daunting task. The performance duration has also shrunk, so the repertoire needs to be edited.”
Urmila Sathyanarayanan with the students of her dance school Natya Sankalpaa performing at Bharathiya Vidya, Bhavan Chennai
| Photo Credit:
R. Ragu
A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award and Nritya Choodamani, Urmila has performed widely as a soloist. She also choreographed and presented many thematic productions along with collaborating with other artistes. She will be presenting her new work ‘Karunya Kavya – Legends behind poetic masterpieces’ on the inaugural day of The Music Academy Dance Festival on January 3.
“Dance is an inseparable part of my life. Apart from giving joy and recognition, it has also taught me discipline, commitment and humility. But this journey wouldn’t have been possible without the wholehearted support of my family and rasikas,” says Urmila.
Published – January 02, 2026 12:39 pm IST
