THE COMPANY
Artistic director & founder Mayuri Upadhya, co-founded Nritarutya, an Indian Contemporary Dance Company, along with associate directors – Madhuri Upadhya; Geetha Ballal, Sathyanarayan B.G. and Umesh B. Naidu.
Nritarutya (Nritya – dance, taru – tree) semantically referring to a ‘dancing tree’ was founded in the year 2000, with a vision at bringing about innovation in tradition, by making the ancient philosophies relevant in the present world through their artistic creations.
Nritarutya currently has two operational wings, managed by Mayuri Upadhya & Madhuri Upadhya, both contributing to building awareness around contemporary dancing in India. The Nritarutya Dance Company is a self-funded professional organization that has ventured into commercial projects, engaging with professional dancers and creating experiential pieces for their commissioned performances. It works towards building a future with sustainable infrastructure for the artists. The Nritarutya Trust, on the other hand, endeavors to promote the art form at a global level, through initiating and curating festivals, and conducting several dance-based education projects. It provides training facilities to the younger generation of artists and gives them opportunities to perform. It has identified talented choreographers and dancers, from the industry, and provided them with performance opportunities, production assistance and launching platforms.
Nritarutya, for the last 15 years has been presenting artistic pieces while exploring a new direction in contemporary Indian dancing. Through its work it supports and initiates understanding of new Indian dance expressions arising from urban structures of living, physical (martial, dance & movement) traditions and performing practices. "Nritarutya is Indian Dance, that's traditional and eclectic; contemporary and spiritual” writes Ashish Khokar, Reputed Critic-Scholar, Historian & Editor of Attendance Dance Magazine. While dance critic & scholar Padmashri Dr. Sunil Kothari said, “Their approach is bold. And commendable as they are, they extend the dance vocabulary to present themes, which are not hackneyed and run of the mill". Another famous personality, Sanjoy Roy, Dance Critic, The Caravan Magazine also quoted "In presentation, these guys are pros....The pieces they perform are sharp, smart and accessible. It’s cool, without being clichéd."
With performances in over 15 different countries, the company has acquired a high profile clientele. Their client list includes the likes of Govt. of India, Govt. of Karnataka, Her Majesty, the Queen of England, several top-notch industrialists like Ambanis, Moranis, The Vedanta Group, Birlas; as well as Bollywood bigwigs like Amitabh Bachchan. They have also toured extensively across the globe, participating in several International dance festivals like Raw energy dance festival- UK, World performing Arts festival - Lahore, Trafalgar Square festival – London, Sama Arts Festival – Newcastle.