PADMAPRIYA MANIKANTAN : Bharatanatyam Dancer and Founder, Principal of “Sriniketan Fine Arts”
Smt. P. Padmapriya a professional Bharatanatyam Dancer and Founder, Principal of “Sriniketan Fine Arts” an academy for all kinds of Performing arts and fine arts at Tambaram, which is in Chennai, South India. This academy was started in the year 2004 with 12 students and 3 teachers. Now it has remarkably grown with 300 students and eight teachers. Smt. P. Padmapriya started her Bharathanatyam lessons at the early age of three under the tutelage of Late Shri. M.D. Venkatesh who is the direct disciple of Shri. Kanchipuram Ellapa Nattuvannar. She is trained in Tanjavur Style of Bharathanatyam. After her Arangetram she continued to learn from Kalimamani Smt. Malathi Dominic. She has performed in Madras Doordarshan twice in the year 1989.
She has won number of prizes in the competition held at inter college level. Being a M.Phil student she worked in a reputed school were she formed a Cultural team and taught the children the importance of dance and music. She was also associated with the SOS Village of Tambaram and taught the children of this organisation for few years and helped them to win second place in Inter State Competition for Bharathanatyam held at New Delhi in the year 1995. Smt. P. Padmapriya has done arangetram for 34 students so far and Salangai Pooja for 100 students. Under her tutelage some of her students have won First place in Inter School Competitions, conducted by Few Associations at Chennai. Along with her disciples she performed in Panthanallur Natyanjali Festival in the year 2010. Smt. P. Padmapriya follows the traditional Tanjavur style and imparts the essence of this tradition in its pure form to her disciples. Her intention to start Sriniketan Fine Arts at Tambaram is to make the residence of this area realize the importance of fine arts and how it could mould their children to become a disciplined and wonderful human being. She has strived for past Fifteen years and now this academy is well known among the people of Tambaram and stands as the best academy for performing arts and fine arts with proper theoretical and practical lessons.
