Passionate dancer, creative choreographer and loving taskmaster, she is a constant source of inspiration to her students and also their friend, philosopher and guide.
Gayatri Subramanian, founder-director of Takshashila Dance Academy, is a Bharatnatyam dancer and teacher, in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. After securing Gold Medal in BFA, she completed her MFA in Bharatanatyam in second position, with first division marks in 2010-2011, from Shri Sarfojiraje Bhosale Centre’s Bharata College of Fine Arts & Culture, Mumbai.
Gayatri was born on 24th June, 1964, in Jamshedpur, into a family where music and dance were a way of life. She spent her youth in Rajasthan and grew to love the land, its vibrant colours and its rich culture of folk dances. She later came to Mumbai, where she was brought up by her foster parents, Guru Shri G.V. Ramani and Smt. Ranganayaki, Periappa and Periamma as she called them, both pioneers in the field of dance.
They initiated her into Bharatanatyam and thus began a beautiful, enriching journey, a continuous process of learning for Gayatri. Her Gurus helped her grow and establish herself as a teacher. Married at 18, she received tremendous support from her husband and family. This was the backbone of her success as a dancer-guru. They helped and encouraged her to pursue the fine arts.
After her foster parents migrated to Bangalore, she associated with their seniormost disciple, Jayashree Nair, Director, Upasana Dance Institute and learnt from her. She also learnt from stalwarts like late Guru Shri Mahalingam Pillai, Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, late Shri Ramaswamy Bhagavatar. Currently, she is doing advanced studies in Bharatanatyam and Nattuvangam from Guru Smt. Rajee Narayan
Gayatri was initiated into Carnatic music by her maternal grand-aunt, Smt. Muthulakshmi. She later learnt from Smt. Saraswathi Subramanian, Mumbai.
In 1988, Gayatri’s association with Navi Mumbai Tamil Sangham, Vashi began and she started teaching there. Her focus has always been on teaching and her popularity as a teacher grew apidly. In 1990, Takshashila Dance Academy was born. Gayatri has participated in various group shows, dance conferences and temple festivals. Gayatri conducts dance classes in Navi Mumbai Tamil Sangam, Vashi, Yoga Niketan, Vashi, Sadhu Vaswani International School, Sanpada and Narayana Mandir Samiti, Nerul. Gayatri’s group presentations and dance dramas are a beautiful blend of tradition and variety in choreography. Her students have imbibed from her a rich repertoire of the Bharatnatyam margam. Some of her popular dance productions are Krishna Leela, Kutrala Kuravanji and Andal Kalyanam.