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.
Her lifelong passion for dance led Lakshmi to establish Natananjali School of Dance in Bethesda, MD. Natananjali dancers have performed at several acclaimed events, including at the 2010 White House Diwali celebrations. Natananjali School of Dance was awarded a citation by Governor Martin O'Malley in 2008 for promoting Asian culture through dance in Maryland and a citation from Maryland General Assembly in 2017 awarded by then delegate and now Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Aruna Miller.
Lakshmi was a performing artist with the Young Audiences/Arts for Learning of Maryland from 2002-2019. 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.
Lakshmi hosted a TV show produced by GTV, titled “The World Of Bharatanatyam”, from 2013-2019, 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. Lakshmi has also had the honor of working with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in their maiden presentation of Olivier Messiaen’s, Turangalila Symphonie.
Lakshmi was featured on Fox local TV's LION Lunch Hour in August 2023, along with a short performance by Natananjali students.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dPEOcu8fQt8