Dhwani Bharatkumar Shah

Biography

Ms. Dhwani Bharatkumar Shah is a distinguished Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, researcher and performing artist. She completed her graduation in Bharatanatyam with a Gold Medal in 2006 and her postgraduate degree with a Gold Medal in 2008 from the Department of Dance, Faculty of Performing Arts, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara. She also completed a Diploma in Indian Classical Vocal Music with Distinction in 2007. From 2016 to 2025, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dance, Faculty of Performing Arts, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, contributing extensively to teaching, research, choreography and academic activities. In 2008, she established the Dhwani Dance and Drama Academy, Dahod, Gujarat, with the objective of providing authentic Bharatanatyam training to students from rural and surrounding areas. The academy has trained more than 300 students, with over 100 students receiving the Visharad qualification and 20 Arangetrams being conducted. She is currently serving as a Bharatanatyam Dance Teacher-cum-Performer with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), Embassy of India, Yangon, Myanmar (for 18 months), where she is actively engaged in teaching, performing, choreography, workshops and promotion of Indian classical dance. As an active scholar, she has published 25 research papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals and contributed 25 research chapters to ISBN-numbered books. She has presented research papers at numerous national and international conferences and seminars. She has also conducted workshops and lecture-demonstrations on Indian classical and folk dance for students across colleges and schools. In 2024, she published a book on Bharatanatyam, contributing to the academic and dance community. Throughout her career, she has received several prestigious honours, including the Kalakar Award from Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Akademi (2008), Nritya Shiromani National Award (2015), Nritya Vibhushan National Award (2018), Nritya Choodamani (2021), Nritya Sadhana International Dance Award (2022) and Nritya Vibhushan National Award (2023). She was also awarded the CCRT Junior Research Fellowship (2022–23) and many more. She has performed solo and group Bharatanatyam at several prestigious festivals, including Chidambaram Dance Festival, Thanjavur Natyanjali Festival, Khajuraho Festival, Cuttack Mahotsav, Uttarardha Modhera Dance Festival and Shamlaji Janmashtami Festival, among others. She has also performed extensively in Myanmar as part of her ICCR assignment. As a choreographer, she has created numerous classical and folk dance presentations, including Bharatanatyam compositions based on Krishna themes such as Madhurashtakam, Krishnaastakam, Girirajadharyashtakam, Krishna Padams and Kirtans. Her other choreographic works include Ganesh Vandana, Mahishasura Mardini Stotra, Shiva Tandava, Kautuvam and Pushpanjali. Since 2018, she has also performed as a lead singer (vocal artist) at the Bita Garba Mahotsav at Akota Stadium Vadodara, performing before an audience of over 50,000. She also acted in the Gujarati feature film “Kundalu,” directed by Mr. Rohit Prajapati and produced by 3 Peepul in collaboration with Geet Theatre. The film was released on 14 November 2025, in which she portrayed the role of the main heroine’s Bhabhi. Through her multifaceted work in teaching, performance, choreography, research, writing and cultural exchange, Ms. Dhwani Bharatkumar Shah continues to contribute significantly to the preservation, promotion and global dissemination of Bharatanatyam and Indian cultural heritage.