Dr. Lakshmi Rekha Arun

Dr. Lakshmi Rekha Arun, the founder director of Laasya Academy of Dance is a rare blend of an accomplished Bharatanatyam performer, a much sought after teacher, an avid researcher with published research papers and scholarly articles, a yoga practitioner who mandates scientific approach to correct and safe body movements, a Nattuvanar, a trained Carnatic vocalist, an Organiser of festivals that are marquee events in the arts calendar and an anchor that presents events with scholarly explanations.

A dentist by education, Dr. Lakshmi Rekha has taken to pursue her passion for Bharatanatyam completely. Her years of dedicated training under the legendary guru Dr. Vasundhara Doraswamy and learning with other accomplished artistes, have resulted in her performances being recognised with both critical acclaim and popular appeal. Her choreographies have been presented with both solo and group presentations across the country. Her infallible Laya, deft Nritta, intricate and compelling Abhinaya and layered and nuanced choreographies have garnered immense admiration.

She is a graded artiste of Doordarshan. She has been recognised with numerous awards and accolades such as Nritya Shiromani, Nritya Upasaki, Women Achiever Award by Rotary Club, Bangalore, VPAC award for excellence in Bharatanatyam and many more. She is a Master degree holder in Bharatanatyam and an avid author with many scholarly articles to her credit.

Her research as a part of Nrityashilpayatra 2022, culminated in articles and research paper published as ‘Vijayanagara temple architecture, Sculptures to Saris- A cross functional study’. She was recognised as the best research intern. Her research artefacts were showcased as a part of G20 forum in Chennai, 2023.

As the founder chairperson of Laasya Academy of Dance, a registered trust, she has ensured that the trust has multiple rural outreach programs that is helping rural students in academics and arts. She has been organizing festivals that are a bench mark in the arts calendar, promoting art and recognizing talent that has done yeoman service in multiple fields. All her events are completely green with zero waste generation.

 

Some key highlights about her art career are,

  • Choreographed and performed a solo presentation of Chitravina Dr.N.Ravikiran’s dance compositions that were conceptualized as a part of dance dramas in to discrete numbers. This was well received by both critics and general art lovers. Chitravina Dr.Ravikiran was present at the performance and was all praise for the presentation. This was endorsed by other critics and scholars
  • Choreographed and presented a dance ballet featuring the lives of Alwars (Srivaishnava saints) as “Alwar Darshanam” with Vid. Pulikeshi Kasturi. This ballet featured 30 artists from Bangalore. This was a fundraiser for a community hall for villagers around Kolar in the state of Karnataka, India.
  • Adapted Sri Krishna Deva Raya’s magnum opus Amuktamalyada to a dance ballet.
  • Choreographed and presented “AMBA” a Laasya production based on the universal mother and her nine forms (Nava Durga), at the inaugural day of RMV Sangeeta Sabha’s Navaratri celebrations, 2019, which has since seen multiple shows across different venues.
  • Have been invited as a chief guest at various cultural events across the state and at the prestigious annual ISKCON heritage fest many a times.
  • Conducting National Level Festivals annually to promote the Indian art and artists, Laasya Sambhrama.
  • Celebrating women accomplishers from different streams of life as a part of International Womens’ Day celebrations of Laasya Academy by felicitating them. So far, theatre, performing arts, doctors and green activist personnel have featured in these events. Laasya Sadhaki
  • She has had the honour of being one of the main mentor and judge for Samman 2020, an international dance and music competition, organized by the Shankar Mahadevan Academy along with Ritwik foundation
  • Working towards social causes by creating platform for autistic children to display their talents in the festivals of the trust.  There was extensive coverage in print and television media about this initiative.