ARTIST | TEACHER | PERFORMER | CHOREOGRAPHER | YOGA PRACTITIONER
Founder, Artistic director of the Prayukti Arts, California.

“My dance is a reflection of who I am. With every lesson life sends my way, with every breath and every situation that I allow myself to be affected by I evolve as a dancer. All of life enriches, informs, furthers and deepens my practice. The only and natural response of my body to all stimuli is to continue dancing. For when I dance, I turn into a better version of me”

Nitya Narasimhan, is an upcoming dancer whose tryst with bharatanatyam began at the tender age of 4. She currently resides and practices out of California, USA and travels to India for her training and performances. She is the artistic director of the “Prayukti Arts“, a forum to nurture quality Indian Art education and propagation in the Bay Area.

Nitya is a graceful, nimble and expressive solo performer who regularly presents her work across podiums and festivals both in the US and India, some of the most noteworthy ones being – Yuva Bharati, Bay Area ; Harmony Live Music and Dance Festival, Chicago ; HHII Dance Festival, Santa Barbara ; Brahma Gana Sabha ; Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai ; Cleveland Thyagaraja Utsav ; Navatman Baithak Series, NYC. Her solo productions “Maathe” and “Aatmavan” premiered in the Bay Area and were presented in multiple locations after. She received the Dancers Group CA$H grant in 2020 as a funding towards her new solo production. Nitya has also curated and been part of many virtual endeavors nourishing and sharing her art through the virtual medium.

Nitya founded the “Prayukti Collective”, a forum through which she hopes to create community programs and further the vision of Prayukti Arts. In this regard, she has curated and presented a Lecture Demonstration series called “The Essence of Indian Arts” in numerous forums across the Bay Area to a wide spectrum of audience. She organizes annual Yoga Day gatherings and has initiated a new series called “Satsang – A sharing”,  for artists across all genres to have a safe space to share work in progress and receive constructive feedback. She has also created ensemble work through the Prayukti Collective and presented “Deflowering” – a breakdown of the traditional Alarippu, speaking of women abuse, oppression, inequality, bias for the Broad Statements Dance Festival. The Prayukti collective has also presented a lot of traditional ensemble work across the Bay Area and in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Utsavam as part of its community outreach program.

For more information on Prayukti‘s work : Prayukti Arts

Nitya trained in Bharatanatyam under Guru Suma Mani, Chennai in her formative years. A graceful, enthusiastic and passionate dancer, Nitya completed her arangetram (debut, solo performance) in the year 2003. She then pursued her learnings under the guidance of Guru Rukmini Vijayakumar, Raadha Kalpa Dance Company, Bangalore. She is mentoring with Smt Vithya Arasu (Natyakala Vidhya) in the Marga-Nritta Karanas and pursuing Nattuvangam training under Dr.G.V.Guru Bharadwaaj. Nitya currently continues her pursuits of bharatanatyam with Smt Shweta Prachande.

Nitya’s interest and passion for movement and dance led her to pursue the Post Diploma program in Movement Arts and Media from the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, where she graduated with honors. She also pursued Art of Teaching at the Iyengar Institute of Yoga, San Francisco. She has performed in various podiums and dance festivals both in the US as well as India and is a seasonal performer in the Chennai Marghazi dance festivities.

She firmly believes in upholding the traditional values of Bharatanatyam, while also acknowledging its problematic past, working with its rich present, and being open to its evolving future. Her commitment to the art form extends beyond its technical aspects, encompassing its cultural and historical significance as well. With a deep understanding of the complex dynamics at play, she strives to honor the tradition while also pushing boundaries and exploring new possibilities for its expression. Through her approach, she embodies the spirit of innovation and evolution that is essential for any art form to thrive and remain relevant.