Rukmini Vijayakumar is an Indian choreographer, Bharatanatyam dancer, and actress. Along with her performances on stage, she has appeared in films such as Ananda Thandavam (2009), Bhajarangi (2013), Kochadaiyaan (2014), Final Cut of Director (2016), Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), and Sita Ramam (2022).
Rukmini is the artistic director of Raadha Kalpa dance company, and the director of LshVa, an art space. She is the founder of The Raadha Kalpa Method, a pedagogical system of training classical Indian, and particularly Bharatanatyam, dancers.
Rukmini's approach to Bharatanatyam is dedicated, rigorous and layered. She has presented her work as a soloist all over the world, including venues such as the Jacobs Pillow festival, Drive East NYC, and the Korzo Theater. Recently she played ‘the goddess of love’ in ‘Sukanya’, produced by The Royal Opera house in London.
Career She studied Bharatanatyam under Guru Narmada, Guru Padmini Rao and Guru Sundari Santhanam. She practiced the Karanas for several years under Guru Sundari Santhanam, a senior disciple of Guru Padma Subramanyam. Rukmini holds a BFA degree from the Boston Conservatory in Ballet and Modern dance. She has studied acting at the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles while also learning under director Prakash Belawadi during her stay in India. She has studied subjects on Fitness Training at UCLA and Anatomy and Physiology at The Boston University.
Rukmini's process of creation is both traditional and contemporary. She was a recipient of the Jiri Kylian grant for choreography and a resident choreographer at Korzo theater, Netherlands in 2018. Her productions, aniruth, Prabhavati, Abhimata, Talattu and The Dark Lord have toured b India and the world extensively. Her more recent work, Turiya, MALA, The Muse and Unrequited were created within the contemporary idiom and have been appreciated for their creative approach to the bharatanatyam vocabulary.
She made her debut in Gandhi Krishna's 2009 romantic film Ananda Tandavam as Ratna alongside Siddharth Venugopal and Tamannaah, but the film was a commercial and critical failure. Rukmini then signed up to appear in Naan, once again alongside Siddharth Venugopal, but the film ran into production trouble and she opted against appearing in the film when it began again in 2010. Moreover, another project, Oru Naal Podhuma directed by Pratap Pothan and featuring Madhavan in the lead role, was also cancelled soon after announcement.
In 2012, Rukmini was approached for Rajinikanths sister's role in Kochadaiyaan. The role was earlier to be enacted by Sneha, who opted out citing date issues. In 2016, her delayed Hindi suspense thriller film Final Cut of Director (also partially made in Tamil as Bommalattam) by Bharathiraja released. In the film, she plays Trishna alongside an ensemble cast of Arjun, Nana Patekar and Kajal Aggarwal. The film features her as a mysterious debutant actress who is hidden from the media, with the film eventually revealing that her character was actually a male, made to dress up by the director. The film opened to positive reviews, with critics terming her performance as "definitely a surprise package".
Personal life Rukmini was married to Rohan Menon.
Dance productions +YearProductionNotes2009MeghamA duet based on the emotional physical impact of water in our lives2010ShankarabharanamA duet on the symbolism of the ornaments of Shiva2011RaadhaA duet inspired by Munshi's Krishnavatara2011Raadha RaniAn ensemble work on aspects of Radha2011KanhaaA physical, emotive response to the idea of Krishna2012KrishnaaA devotional solo on the surrender to Krishna2012AndalA solo based on the life of the Tamil saint Andal2013"Nayani" The resonance of the OmniscientAn ensemble work on the elements of nature and the presence of Shiva2014PrabhavatiAn ensemble work, created in a dance theater format inspired by the Telugu novel, 'Prabhavati Pradyumnam'2015YamaA trio that exemplifies the idea of the passage of time in a fast-paced life2015A maargamAn ensemble work created in the traditional format of a Margam2016TuriyaA trio that explores the three states of consciousness2016AbhimataA solo that explores the various relationships that we share2017The Dark LordAn ensemble work inspired by the lives of Meera, Andal and Radha2017MALAA solo that explores momentum and rhythm in the bharatanatyam vocabulary2017ShankarabharanamRevisited as an ensemble work2018UnrequitedPremiered in Korzo theater, Netherlands, an abstraction of Sati and Shiva.2018TalattuPremiered in Milapfest, Liverpool, a solo on Yashoda and Radha.
Filmography Year Film Role Language Notes 2008 Bommalattam Trishna / Krishna TamilPartially reshot version2009 Ananda Thandavam Ratnakumari Raghupathi "Ratna" 2013 Bhajarangi Krishne Kannada Debut Kannada film2014 Kochadaiyaan Yamuna Devi Tamil 2015 Shamitabh herself HindiDebut Hindi film2016 Final Cut of Director Trishna / Krishna 2017 Kaatru Veliyidai Dr. Nidhi Tamil 2021 Natyam Herself Telugu Cameo appearance 2022 Sita Ramam Rekha Bharadwaj Telugu Thimayya & Thimayya Herself Kannada Cameo appearance
References
External links
Official website Raadha Kalpa in the LshVa Art Space