Culture & Heritage Yashoda Thakore takes dance to new heights

Embellishing the sacred and profane dimensions of love as portrayed in Kshetrayya padams, dance guru Yashoda Thakore has always won the hearts of dance connoisseurs of Telugu states as well as lovers of music and dance the world over.    
Yashoda is an acclaimed and accomplished Kuchipudi and Devadasi Nrityam artiste. She began training under proponents of Kuchipudi, earlier from Padma Sri Sobha Naidu and later Padma Vibhushan Vempati Chinnasaytam, before she sought to expand her horizons. An artiste with unquenchable thirst for learning and passion to explore the deeper potentialities of her dance, she went to the Kalavantulu (as this community of hereditary women dancers of the temple and court is called in the Godavari Delta) families, to reach out to them and learn their art.
Building on her passion for art complemented by assiduous practice, Yashoda, in association with renowned art critic Dr Pappu Venugopala Rao, translated the 13th Century Sanskrit treatise on dance, N?ttaRatn?vali, into English, which was published to critical acclaim. She has also authored the book Kaivalya -Joy in Yoga and Dance.
Consummately enriching the practice of the art of dance with research findings, Yashoda has emerged as an artiste widely regarded for innovative classicism. She has enthralled world audiences with her flawless artistry, touring and conducting lectures. While Khajuraho, Konark, Mudra, Kalamandalam, Nishagandha Festivals, The Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and Madras Music Academy have played host to Yashoda in India, she has been showered with praise for her performances in The Nehru Centre, London, The Indian High Commission, Dubai, the Sanskrit Theatre Symposium, Dhaka, the International Kuchipudi Dance Convention, California, and the Volos International Festival, Greece, amongst others, abroad. She also presented papers and performed at the Centre for South Asian Studies, Paris.
For her continual allegiance to her art, Yashoda was conferred the Ugadi Puraskar by the Government of combined Andhra Pradesh. She has her own institute Rinda Saranya Kuchipudi Dance Academy in Hyderabad where students are trained in Kuchipudi, music and yoga.