Savitha Sastry (born 11 August 1969) is an Indian dancer and choreographer best known as an exponent of Bharatanatyam. She is known to experiment with the format of traditional Bharatanatyam by using the techniques of Bharatanatyam to showcase theme-based productions based on novel stories, not based on Indian mythology or religion.Praveen, Priyanka. (6 August 2012). Breaking free from the mould. Deccan Chronicle.Singh, Nonika. (15 July 2012). Like a Free Bird. The Tribune.Yasin, Fozia. (27 January 2013). Modern Classics. The Asian Age.Vincent, Anusha. (5 March 2013). Natya goes beyond borders. Deccan Chronicle. Her innovations have been described as 'path breaking' by critics.Walia, Yamini. (12 February 2015). The Classical Storyteller. Afternoon Despatch & Courier and she is considered to be a 'renaissance architect'Chatterjee, Anannya. (31 January 2015). Tussle between personal choice and societal expectations is a constant. "Absolute India". who 'holds the distinction of being the dancer to have brought out a revolution in the way Bharatanatyam is presented after Rukmini Devi Arundale'.Vishwanath, Narayana. (9 March 2015). Telling the tale of Womanhood."Indian Express"ANI Report. (10 August 2021)The Award Winning Trilogy "Colors" culminates on Independence Day with its third part Colors: Saffron Business Standard
Early life and education Savitha Subramaniam was born in Hyderabad, and later lived in Mumbai before her family relocated to their home town of Chennai. She started her training in Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of Guru Mahalingam Pillai at the Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir in Mumbai, and later with Adyar K Lakshman and the Dhananjayans in Chennai.Chakrabarty, Roshni. (10 November 2020). Why this neuroscientist changed her career to perform and teach Bharatanatyam for free. "India Today" She did her schooling at the P.S Senior Secondary School in Chennai, and her graduation from Stella Maris College.
In 1986, she featured as the lead dancer in the Tamil film Ananda Tandavam, a production of her GuruViswanathan, Lakshmi. (1 December 2003). Inimitable Dance Guru. The Hindu. Adyar K Lakshman. She pursued her master's degree in the United States, where she majored in neuroscience.
Bharatanatyam Through the 1980s, 1990s and the first decade of the millennium, Sastry had performed mostly traditional repertoires of Bharatanatyam. She produced and choreographed a few full length presentations such as Krishna: The Supreme Mystic and Purushartha during this phase.About Savitha, savithasastry.com; accessed 28 June 2017.
She is credited to have a high degree of technical proficiency in her kinetics of the dance form in being able to deliver it with the grace and technique demanded of Bharatanatyam performers.Suri, Sathish.Profile, Narthaki.com; accessed 25 September 2011. Sydney-based critic Hamsa Venkat referred to "Savitha's crisp nritta (pure dance), clean lines and flawless aramandi was a breath of fresh air, and truly inspirational for students of dance."Venkat, Hamsa, "A Queen of Mime", Sydhwaney.com, 11 March 2011. The Audition Panel of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival described her dancing with the words "Moves like a temple sculpture come to life".
Notable productions By 2009, Sastry departed from performing traditional margams (the traditional order in which classical dance is performed), and started her work on theme based productions. Sastry is noted for the use of contemporary and original story lines in her performances and her portrayal of multiple characters as a solo performer in them, which is a marked departure from the traditional Bharatanatyam theme of the nayika (the heroine) pining for love or pieces based on Bhakti (devotion) alone. Some of her notable productions include Music Within (2010),Das, Priya. "A Quiet Dance of the Soul" , India Currents, 29 November 2010.Bal, Harish. "Festival Rhythms", The Hindu, 13 October 2011. Soul Cages (2012),Subramanya, Mysore V."Music & Dance Reviews", Deccan Herald, 11 April 2013.Sharma, SD. "Savitha Sastry leaves Chandigarh Audience awestruck", Hindustan Times (July 2012).Kumar, Ranee. "Enchanting Treatment", The Hindu, 10 August 2012.Singh, Ayesha. "Soul Cages – A renaissance in Bharatanatyam", Sunday Standard, 9 December 2012.Mendoza, Conan."The Drama of Dance", Deccan Chronicle, 3 April 2013.Reviews on YUDH – the dance drama ballet by Savitha Sastry, IndiaStudyChannel, 26 April 2013.Pattabhiraman, Arundhati. "Creativity Unlimited", Deccan Herald], 10 March 2013. The Prophet: Destiny. Divinity. Doubt"Around Town", Indian Express, 19 November 2013. and Chains: Love Stories of Shadows (2015).
Sastry has been critically lauded not only for her technique, but also for her innovations in the art form to take it to a wider audience. A profile story in the Times of India reported "(Savitha) has merged contemporary content with the centuries old dance form to create a unique niche"
Critic Fozia Yasin of the Asian Age notes that Sastry "aims to bring about a renaissance in the traditional art form by marrying the aesthetics of Bharatanatyam with the power of an intelligent and novel story-line." Critic Nonika Singh of The Tribune wrote, "Knocking down pigeonholes as she breaks free, she hopes to inspire more and more aspiring dancers to soar along, in the vast expanse of tradition minus the baggage of restrictive thinking!" Critic Yamini Walia of the Afternoon Despatch & Courier reports that "her path breaking work has been recognised as a renaissance by critics and audiences all over the world."Walia, Yamini."The Classical Storyteller", Afternoon Despatch & Courier; accessed 28 June 2017.
All her productions have been based on short stories by her husband, AK Srikanth, and the soundtrack for the productions have been composed by Rajkumar Bharathi, the great grandson of the veteran poet Subramania Bharathi. These have been performed in the Indian Subcontinent, Australia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas, and the productions have met with critical and popular acclaim. Another hallmark of Sastry's presentations is a Q & A session that she and Srikanth have with the audience at the end of the performance where the audience discuss the presentation with the performer and writer. Critic Lakshmi Ramakrishna of the Hindu praised this teamwork with the words "The husband – wife duo has struck a chord with audiences in conveying deeply philosophical thoughts with striking simplicity, élan and elegance"Ramakrishna, Lakshmi. "I salute the power of this dance form", The Hindu; accessed 27 February 2015.
She has been labeled the "Dancing Storyteller" by the popular press following these productions.Agarwal, Kanchan."A lifetime of learning", postnoon.com, 23 February 2013."Three perspectives, one truth" , National Centre Performing Arts, Mumbai website; accessed 28 June 2017.Sundar, Mrinalini.Sundar, Mrinalini. "Alternative Storyteller", Indian Express, 29 March 2013.
Digital productions Since 2018, Sastry and AK Srikanth have been releasing their productions on free to stream digital platforms to take their work to a world audience."Storytelling through dance" by Krupa Joseph, Deccan Herald, 20 October 2020 They also produce short classical dance videos that narrate a unique story, on the same lines of popular music videos. The short films have been nominated in over 50 film festivals across the world.'Bharatanatyam Danseuse Savitha Sastry and AK Srikanth, Writer and Director Mark a Decade of their Bharatanatyam Dance Productions with Beyond the Rains' Business Standard, 7 February 2022
Their first release, The Descent was based on the story of a fallen superstar, and dealt with themes of depression.'Why this neuroscientist changed her career to perform and teach Bharatanatyam for free' by Roshni Chakrabarty, India Today, 10 November 2020 The film was awarded the Best Short Film 2019 at the Calcutta International Cult Film Festival,"Neuroscientist and Dancer Savitha Sastry Is Giving Bharatanatyam a Digital Makeover" by Manvi Pant, eShe 13 December, 2020. The Top Shorts Awards, the Near Nazareth Festival and the Best Global Short. It was also nominated at the John Abraham International Short Film Festival, the 5th Jaipur Film World 2021, Venice Film Awards, Cannes Short Film Festival, FilmFest by Rogue Dancer, Open Window International Film Challenge, Conceptsion International Film Awards, Mumbai 9th Indian Cine Festival 2021, the 11th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2021, Florence Film Awards, and the First Time Filmmaker Sessions."Awards List"
2020 and 2021 saw Srikanth and Savitha releasing their much acclaimed Colors Trilogy. The series of three films was based on the colors of the Indian National Flag - Green, White and Saffron. The stories juxtaposed the ideals behind these colors as envisaged by the Founding Fathers of Indian independence, with the lives of women in modern day India. The first part of the trilogy, Colors: Green is said to have been inspired by the life of Srikanth's mother.'A film about dreams and aspirations of women' by Shilpa SR, The Hindu, 25 September 2020 The second part - White is a biographical account of the story of her shift from traditional Bharatanatyam to the theme based productions she is famous for.'Indian Bharatanatyam dancer Savitha Sastry on dance film 'Colors: White' & more' by Zeba Khan, WION News, 4 June 2021 The concluding part Saffron is a dystopian premise that portrays a prison that houses women that are deemed more successful than their men."'Saffron' completes 'Colours' dance film trilogy of Srikanth, Savitha Sastry" IANS, Sify.com, 1 September 2021
The series was hugely acclaimed, with Critics in Business Standard reporting "Writer AK Srikanth's story, while here as a short film, comes to life as it was written. And it is that much richer as an experience for all.""The Award Winning Trilogy "Colors" culminates on Independence Day with its third part Colors: Saffron" Business Standard, 10 August 2021. DNA reported "The story is a befitting tribute to the strength and courage of a woman" Danseuse Savitha Sastry and Director AK Srikanth release their 8th production Arangetram (The Debut)"Savitha Sastry gets lauded for her performance in short film ‘Colors: Saffron’" DNA, 8 September 2021].
Beyond the Rains, the short film based on AK Srikanth's short story The Girl in the Bubble was released on Valentine's Eve in 2022. The film is said to be structured like a Haiku, and is noted for its delicate portrayal of the emotion of love."Capturing the tenderness of a dew drop about to fall from a leaf" by Vishnu Makhijani, IANS, 6 March 2022. In June 2022, Savitha and Srikanth released their short film Dvija to critical acclaim. Dvija is based on a short story by Srikanth titled The Shrine, and was inspired by Ueda Akinari's Harusame Monogatari.'In search of selfless love' Indian Express, 28 June 2022. The release of this film coincided with ten years of their production company.'A short film about god, man and relationships' The Hindu, 2 June 2022.