Aravinth
Kumarasamy
Artistic Director
Mohanapriyan Thavarajah
Associate Creative Director
Vijaya
Nadesan
Principal Apsaras Arts Academy
Sankari
Elavalahan
Company Manager
Aravinth has been Artistic Director of Apsaras Dance Theatre since 2005. This former corporate high-flyer gave up his career in banking IT to live and breathe his one true passion – Bharatanatyam. He has transformed the company formerly known as Apsaras Arts into a bona fide professional repertory dance company – now called Apsaras Dance Theatre. At the end of each successful production, three recurring questions haunt him –“What’s next? How can we raise the bar with our next show? What can we do to reach an even wider audience, while staying true to our roots?”
It is the search for answers to these questions that motivates him to continually innovate. This multi-talented artiste has delicately infused traditional Bharatanatyam with contemporary innovations in storytelling, blurred the lines between diverse cultural influences by weaving in Cambodian, Javanese, Balinese and Sri Lankan dance forms, and addressed real-world current affairs head on with daring productions. He has also redefined the purpose of the Bharatanatyam ensemble.
In doing so, he has earned an international reputation as one of the world’s leading innovators of Bharatanatyam, putting Apsaras Arts on the world cultural map.
For his contributions to the Arts, Aravinth has been recognised with Singapore’s “Young Artiste Award” by the National Arts Council of Singapore (1999), India’s prestigious “Arya Bhatta Award” (2016) the “Kala Ratna” award from Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (2019) and in 2023, the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest national accolade for an individual’s contribution to the arts.
Aravinth is a member of the advisory board of the National Arts Council of Singapore, and the talent advisory board of the People’s Association of Singapore.a
Artistic Director
Associate Creative Director
Principal Apsaras Arts Academy
Company Manager
Student Enrolment Officer
Production Manager
Apsaras Arts was founded in 1977 by alumni and former faculty of the esteemed Kalakshetra Foundation in India – Shri S. Sathaylingam (Music Director) and Srimathi Neela Sathyalingam (Artistic Director). Together, they embarked on a journey to promote classical Bharatanatyam to multicultural Singapore.
Each year, a growing number of students would receive the disciplined guidance needed to master Bharatanatyam from the Sathyalingams. Many of them would go on to become dancers and choreographers of high regard themselves.
Apsaras Arts productions would soon earn a reputation for artistic excellence and creativity, always pushing the boundaries to create shows of uncompromising quality and establishing itself as a respected Singapore arts institution.
‘Alapadma’ refers to a fully opened lotus, and is the name of a dance mudra (hand gesture) as codified in ancient texts on Indian dance and theatre. Alapadma – The Lotus Unfolds is a Bharatanatyam dance production that draws inspiration from the multifaceted symbolism of the lotus. Dancers and musicians from Apsaras Arts explore the sacred flower’s representation in mythology, iconography and philosophy, particularly in the ancient civilisations of India, Egypt and Southeast Asia.
“Angkor: An Untold Story melds multiple Asian art forms in a lavish visual feast… In the unforgettable first sequence, dancers showed off their martial prowess in steps partly based on Indian tribal movements, reminiscent of Malay silat and choreographed for Chinese drums. Such seamless tapestries of different artistic traditions were created by a variety of choreographers including artists from Singapore-based Apsaras Arts and Osman Abdul Hamid from Malay cultural troupe, Era Dance Theatre. Their work in the 140-minute production provided a powerful visual reminder of the historical truth that cross-cultural exchange has shaped Asia and Asian art for centuries.”
“They came, they performed, they conquered.’ This is an apt description of the Singapore-based dance company Apsaras Arts, which recently toured South India. They impressed not only the audience, but also connoisseurs of Indian classical dance forms. The troupe was elegant and professional, and didn’t strike a single note of discord throughout the performance.”