Karnataka’s Unique Danseuse – Nirmala Madhava

Establishing the splendor of Indian art and culture all over America, Canada, Dubai and other parts of the world, is the co-founder and chief choreographer of Pampa Dance Academy, Nirmala Madhava. She has lived in the USA for the last 25 years with her family. She is the chief choreographer in PAMPA Dance Academy and is responsible for teaching many children Indian classical dance and music. In addition, she has performed at AKKA and other international events over the years.

Recently, when she came to India to perform at  Sri. Bannanje Govindacharya’s 80th birthday celebrations, Grihashobha magazine requested an interview with her. She has shared many aspects of her childhood, her journey in the dance field and many other experiences. Here are the highlights.

*Please tell us about Pampa Dance Academy…..

Pampa Dance Academy was founded in San Jose in 1993 by Dr. Purna Prasad (Nirmala’s brother-in-law). I started working there as the chief choreographer and dance teacher. There are other professionals who teach music and mridanga. Dr. Purna Prasad teaches mridanga. My husband, Bindu Madhava, is the audio – video and visual effects expert. Our institution will complete its 25th year next year!

I went to Canada in 1991 to perform at various events. Pampa Dance Academy was started the year after. I came from Canada to work as both teacher and performer. Although this was a challenging task, I have been able to carry out my duties very ably. There are nearly 250 students at the Academy now. I have dance assistants as well. We teach both the practical and theoretical aspects of dance. We conduct exams also. We teach them about Hindu mythology, classical music, and culture by presenting it in story form. This helps them learn easily and with interest. A lot of students don’t know about Indian art and culture; that is why we give these topics a lot of importance. Thirty-seven students have already performed their solo debuts. We will be performing several productions next year. Every year, we have two big events. 

Nritya Vaibhava, our Vijayadashmi performance, is where all students perform. This is an event where only family and friends are invited to attend to see how much progress their student has achieved. This is essentially a class presentation, not a professional show. This performance is for Pampa students’ family. 

In April, we stage a grand performance, where we have customized music and choreography. We invite both local artists and artists from India to perform at this event. In addition to these two annual performances, we perform several fund raising events. We also perform at libraries, Indian senior citizen organizations and other non-profit organizations. In addition to these, we perform lecture demonstrations at local schools and colleges; we conduct workshops, including yoga workshops. Yoga is the foundation of all Indian classical dances; which is why we give yoga a lot of importance at our Academy. We also give our students a working knowledge of both Carnatic and Hindustani music because this is vital to Indian dance.

Pampa Dance Academy has grown into a very large institution. On Sep 25, 2015, Indian Prime Minister, Hon. Narendra Modi had visited the Bay Area. Our Academy had been invited to perform for ten minutes in the cultural program to welcome him. There were nearly twenty thousand people in the audience. This was a huge opportunity for us! 

We have performed for RSS and other organizations. Recently, Swamiji from Puttige Matha (Udupi), has installed the Krishna Vrundavana temple in San Jose. On Nov. 14, 2015, we performed a grand fundraising event, Bhakti.

*Please tell us about your childhood and the event that started your journey into dance.......

I have lived and grown up in Gandhi Bazar in Bangalore. I studied at Gokulam Gardens School. One day, after school, when I was sitting outside my house, waiting for a friend (which friend, I have now forgotten), I heard the sound of a rhythmic beat coming out of a nearby garage. I went to investigate out of curiosity and found a number of children dancing there. Even though I didn’t know what kind of dance it was, I came home and told my mother that I wanted to learn. My mother enrolled me at that dance school.

I started my dance journey with my first guru, late Smt. Lalita Dorai. I went on to obtain a B.A. in dance from Bangalore University. During my bachelor’s degree, I was exposed to various forms of dance and dancers and teachers. I got the opportunity to learn about the amazing diversity of dance. During my teenage years, I joined Prabhat Kalavidaru. Here I worked for over fifteen years and learnt and performed many different choreographies. I also learnt Kathak from late Dr. Maya Rao. I am now proficient in both Bharata Natya and Kathak. When I was about to become a professional dancer and start performing solo dance performances, in 1991, I got the opportunity to come to Canada. After staying there for a year, I moved to America, where I have been for the last 25 years.

*You have worked with the internationally acclaimed choreographer, Lawrence Peck. Please tell us your experience with him.......

One morning while checking my email, I noticed there was one labeled “San Francisco Opera House”. When I read the mail, I found out that they were searching for dancers. I knew this was a great opportunity for me and without hesitation, I replied, “Yes, I am coming!” Lawrence Peck is the chief choreographer of the San Francisco Opera. He asked me whether I would perform at the Opera House. I agreed readily. They arranged my performance (12 shows) in an auditorium that seats nearly 2000 people. During the time I worked with him, I learnt many things such as the importance of body language on stage, the importance of costume, jewelry and dialogue delivery etc. He taught me everything in great detail.

*You have come to Bangalore to perform for Sri. Bannanje’s birthday celebration. Please tell us how you met him......

In 1982, when the movie, Madhvacharya, was made, I first heard of him. I was with Prabhat Kalavidaru then. My brother-in-law, Dr. Purna Prasad, acted as Madhvacharya. He talked to me at length about Sri. Bannanje. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet him. After I came to America, some of my friends had talked about his lectures. I got the opportunity of attending his lectures and met him. Over the years, the bond between us has strengthened. He has been coming to our area for the last two years to speak about Vedanta etc. 

Last year he invited me to perform at his 80th birthday celebration. I accepted immediately. In the 45 minutes, that I was given, I performed “Guru Namana”, including in my performance his composition on Narasimha. It has been an honor and privilege to perform for Guruji, his students and well -wishers.
I have performed all over Canada and the U.S.

*Please tell us about your performance here in India and how it was received......

In 25 years, you can call this my first performance in India! Some years ago, I had performed at a school in Bangalore. However, the audience was limited only the school students and their families. Guru Namana was my first performance in a large auditorium in front of such a large audience. Despite many offers, I was unable to travel here to perform. But for my first major performance here I have been lucky to obtain an interview with a major magazine!

*How does your husband, Bindu Madhava, help and support you? Please tell us a little about him......

We got married after I moved to America in 1994. He is not just my husband, but my best friend too. We met when I joined Prabhat Kalavidaru. We performed in many shows together. At that time in my community, dance was not considered a respectable profession for girls. They were very much against it. My mother, however, was always very supportive of me. In the same way, my husband has been very encouraging and supportive of my efforts in dance. We have collaborated on all my performances. He is my backbone. He helps in all of my performances. All the lighting and audio for my performances are his work. All of his family lives in the U.S. and are very supportive of me. We all work as one team. All in all, I’m very lucky!

*What is your opinion of today’s different dance styles?

There are many different styles nowadays, both classical and non classical. There is an audience for every type of dance. I don’t like to criticize any style of dance. Indian dance is celebrated and revered all over the world today. This is what I teach my students as well.

*What are your futures plans?

We have to prepare and practice for our regular performances in the U.S. I am also planning on some international performances. In addition, I am planning a gala celebration of PAMPA’s 25th anniversary.

*How do you spend your free time?

I like to cook and garden in my free time. I go hiking with some of my friends. I also go to the gym to exercise and do yoga. Keeping the body strong is vital for a dancer. Exercise is very important to maintain the strength and muscles in the body. I also watch movies sometimes. Mainly, I like to stay home and cook.

*What advice do you have for the youth and future generations of artistes?

For anyone to be acclaimed as a consummate dancer, just attending a dance school is not enough. You have to understand the material and absorb it. When you discuss whatever your teacher has taught, new topics will emerge from those discussions. You have to learn classical music in detail, both practically and theoretically. You also need to have a strong knowledge of taala (rhythm) and Indian literary classics and mythology. Dance is not merely body movement. There is much more depth to it. If you understand all these things in detail, your dancing will have more depth and feeling to it. If an artiste can do all this, they will definitely become successful.

*Have you received offers to choreograph for Hollywood or Bollywood?

I have received a few but have rejected them. I don’t have any interest or expertise in that field. I find that I can choreograph what seems realistic to me. The kind of satisfaction that I get from my stage performances, I don’t get from film dance choreography. It is not something that I will consider seriously.

(This is the translated version of my article which is published in Grihashobha Kannada magazine (April 2016 issue) about Karnataka’s Unique Danseuse Nirmala Madhava.. Translated by Vandana Tirumale.)