Lakshmi Swaminathan
Lakshmi Swaminathan trained in bharatanatyam under the able guidance of Guru Dr. Thankamani Kutty, director of Kalamandalam, Calcutta. During her days as a solo dancer, Lakshmi has performed extensively in India, The United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States. She was also a graded artist in Doordarshan, the National television channel of India and has several local television performances to her credit.
In 2002, her lifelong passion for dance led Lakshmi to establish Natananjali School of Dance in Bethesda, MD. In addition to her leadership of Natananjali, Lakshmi has significant experience working with other arts groups. For 17 years, Lakshmi was a performing artist with the Young Audiences/Arts for Learning of Maryland. Before that, she served for three years with the New York Chapter as a member of the group, Caravan. Through her program, supported in part by Maryland State Arts Council’s artist in education grant, she presented assembly performances and dance workshops, educating students in Indian classical dance and culture.
From 2013-2019, Lakshmi hosted a TV show produced by GTV, titled “The World Of Bharatanatyam”, through which she aimed to educate the viewers on the nuances of this art form. In 2016, Lakshmi represented Indian immigrants in a photo exhibit entitled “Faces of Montgomery” at The New Americans Expo. Passionate about charity causes, Lakshmi has successfully raised funds for the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Charity Water, SOS Children’s Villages, NCCF, SHOFCO, Pratham USA, Smile Train, AIM for Seva, Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, and Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC, to name a few.
In 2015, Lakshmi Swaminathan was awarded the Seva Ratna award by Balaganamrutham, in recognition of her continued dedication and promotion of Fine Arts.
In 2019, Lakshmi had the honor of working with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in their maiden presentation of Olivier Messiaen’s, Turangalila Symphonie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dPEOcu8fQt8