Charulatha Jayaraman is an outstanding award-winning performer and teacher in the field of Bharathanatyam. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Shrishti School of Performing Arts (or "Shrishti") in Orange County, CA.
She is a nattuvangam exponent and an ardent disciple of Smt. Indira Rajan, a world class nattuvanar par excellence. Charulatha aims at imparting and sharing knowledge about the art form through "Shrishti". Charulatha is notable amongst the new genre of exponents. She is the recipient of the most coveted award from the Government of Tamilnadu, "Kalaimamani". A practitioner of the Pandanallur style of Bharathanatyam, her captivating elegance and stage presence has been a treat to art lovers. Her recitals combine superior artistry with emotional directness. She is applauded by critics and connoisseurs of art for her innovative choreographic techniques. The divine art which has touched her soul and spirit is both her passion and prayer. She has been bestowed with various titles and awards to commemorate her talent.
Charulatha is a disciple of Sangeet Nataka Academy Awardee Guru Smt. Indira Rajan. Charulatha has had her initial tutelage under Smt. Suba Parmar and Smt. Subhashini Chandresekar.
She has had the honor of performing at some of the most prestigious cultural events all over the Indian sub-continent and beyond. With many hundred solo performances to her credit, Charulatha had the unique honor of the being the youngest performer at the National festival of classical dance and music in Agartala, Tripura. She has been invited to perform at some of the major cultural festivals that include Navratri festival-Srilanka, Swaralaya music and dance festival- Pallakand, Konark Music and Dance Festival-Orissa, Soorya Parampara-Trivandrum, Mamallapuram festival, Natyanjali festival, Bharat utsav-Sikkim, Kolkata , SATTE –Delhi, IGNFA-Dehradun, LBSNAA-Musourie. She has also donned the lead role in many dance dramas like "Kuraloviyam," "Kutrala Kuravanji", "Ramayan", "Elements of nature", "Radhaiyinkadhal", "Krishnaleela", "Parameshwara" etc
shrishti school
Since her arangetram, Charulatha had assisted her Gurus in teaching. In 2002, she co-founded Shrishti-school of bharathanatyam in India which continues to be a platform for aspiring students. After moving to the United States, Charulatha still keeps in touch with her most bright and talented students from India.
Now in Orange County, California, Charulatha has commenced to train students in the United States through Shrishti School of Performing Arts, a registered non-profit organization. She teaches at "The Mandir" and at Shrishti's studio center in Irvine, CA. With many student arangetrams and global performances, she continues her vision of promoting Indian culture through classical dance.
