IKS MetaRetreat INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE – BEYOND PROSCENIUM

Founder and Artistic Director of Feet on Earth, Pujita Krishna has an eclectic academic and professional background. A dancer and writer primarily, she has had a diverse career spanning several areas such as media, films, journalism, community work, teaching and training. This wide-ranging experience has cumulatively lent itself to shaping her artistic personality and perception.

With a Master’s degree in Fine Arts specialising in Dance from the University of California, Pujita has a multi-disciplinary background in dance. She is primarily an Indian Classical performer with expertise in Vilasini Natyam and Kuchipudi. During her time at the University of California, she had the opportunity to train in many western forms as well such as modern, jazz and flamenco. Apart from her MFA in dance, Pujita has a MA in English Literature and a PG Diploma in Environmental Education and Management. She is a Doordarshan graded artist for Kuchipudi and has been noted for her achievements by various cultural forums and organisations. Her thesis ‘Revival of Vilasini Natyam at Ranganathaswamy Temple, Hyderabad’ has been published by Proquest, a prestigious academic publisher based in Michigan, USA. She is a recipient of the Junior Fellowship under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture. As a writer of fiction, several of her stories have been published in different media, including her short story ‘A Bird in Flight’ that has been published in an anthology by Grapevine Publishers, New Delhi. Her novella ‘Smitten’ has been published by BecomeShakespeare.com, a Mumbai based publishing company. Her articles on dance have been published in peer reviewed academic journals as well. She currently writes on dance for The Hindu as its dance critic as well.

Pujita Krishna began her training in Vilasini Natyam in 2006 under the tutelage of Padmabhushan Swapnasundari and Dr. Anupama Kylash. Pujita has performed the dance rituals at the annual brahmotsavam of the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Hyderabad along with other Vilasini Natyam dancers and she has been part of several group presentations of Vilasini Natyam at various national forums and festivals in the country, aside from her solo performances.

She was awarded the best performance prize at the 112th annual festival of the prestigious Parthasarthy sabha in Chennai in February 2013. She was a recipient of the Ugadi Puraskar conferred by Dhanwantari Foundation, Hyderabad in 2014 and was awarded the IIDF award for Vilasini Natyam for 2016 by Sanskruthiki, an organisation founded by Sri Shyamhari Chakra, a well-known dance connoisseur. She has conducted workshops organised by the American Consulate, Hyderabad for underprivileged children and in 2015 hosted a two-week international residency for the Chicago based contemporary dance artist Nejla Yatkin and Enki Sumer as part of their project Dancing around the World.

She has several performances to her credit which include prestigious cultural venues such as the Khajuraho Dance Festival in Madhya Pradesh, Natyanjali Festival at Chidambaram, IIDF festivals at Bhubaneshwar and Bangalore, The Guruvayoor temple festival, Cuttack Mahotsav, including international performances such as for SPICMACAY at Sydney, Australia, the Gandhi Centre at The Hague, Netherlands, The India Habitat Centre in New Delhi & the Nehru Centre in London.

Pujita is the curator of the Arts Festival called Feet on Earth Festival that saw its second edition on 25th and 26th November 2023.