Sneha Chakradhar
Sneha Chakradhar is an established name in the new generation of Bharatanatyam dancers. Having pursued the Indian classical dance form for over three decades, she merges her dedicated practice of Bharatanatyam with her deep engagement with music, poetry and the social sciences. Born and raised in New Delhi, Sneha has learnt under legendary Gurus including Kalaimamani Guru K.N. Dakshinamoorthy and Geeta Chandran. Belonging to a family of musicians and litterateurs, Sneha has received immense encouragement and valuable guidance in carving a niche for herself in the invigorating world of the arts.
Sneha’s dance is assertive, demonstrating a command over both the rhythmic and the interpretative aspects of the classical form. She is acknowledged for her stage presence by critics and audiences alike. A thinking artist, Sneha’s choreographic work is a coming together of the visual, performative and literary traditions from the north and the south of India. A senior dancer with the Natya Vriksha Dance Company (New Delhi), Sneha has travelled extensively with varied productions addressing social issues related to diversity, drug abuse, HIV AIDS, female feticide, environmental degradation and women’s empowerment. In January 2015, she had the privilege of performing for US President Barack Obama in a cultural evening hosted by Indian president Pranab Mukherjee at the Presidential House in New Delhi.
Sneha has represented her country as a cultural ambassador around the globe. She has presented solo recitals and has been a part of prominent group presentations at some of the most prestigious cultural spaces. Some of these are the Nehru Centre in London, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan in Sydney, Lincoln Centre in New York, National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai, Thai Cultural Centre in Bangkok and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Mauritius.
An empaneled artist with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (Ministry of Culture, Government of India) and Doordarshan (national public television of India), she has received accolades from premier Indian dance and music institutes. These include ‘Dandayudhapani Award 2001’, ‘Natya Ratna’, ‘Chitra Kala Sangam Award’, ‘Madhav Jyoti Samman’, ‘Allahabad Museum Young Talent Award’ and ‘Bharat Icon Award 2019’ to name a few.
Sneha is an enthusiastic academic, receiving her Ph.D. in Sociology in 2015. With Bharatanatyam as her case study, her work is in the area of sociology of dance and performance making. She has a Master of Sociology degree, a Master of Theatre degree, and a Diploma in Development Communication. Sneha held the post of assistant professor at the Department of Sociology at Janki Devi Memorial College, Delhi University from 2010-2013 and worked as a consultant – designing the arts curriculum for Shiv Nadar School in Delhi from 2015 to 2020.
Sneha is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Arts and Human Sciences at Northern New Mexico College in the United States of America. She is also the founder of ‘Namah Fe’, a festival celebrating the arts, cinema and culture of India in Santa Fe, New Mexico.