Rajee Narayan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Bharatanatyam dance guru
- choreographer
- composer
- musician
Rajee Narayan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 August 1931 |
| Died | 25 September 2020 (aged 89) |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Bharatanatyam |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Sangeet Natak Akademi Award[2] Tagore Akademi Puraskar Sangeetha Sikshamani Swar Sadhna Ratna M. S. Subbulakshmi Award |
| Website | www |
Guru Smt. Rajee Narayan (19 August 1931 – 25 September 2020) was a Bharatanatyam dancer, musician and composer living in Mumbai, India.[3] She was a rare combination of guru, musician, composer and choreographer, with the unique distinction of teaching not only Bharatanatyam, but also Carnatic Music, Natyasastra and Nattuvangam. She established her institution, Nritya Geethanjali in Mumbai in 1965. She has served as board member of the University of Mumbai, for over two decades and as the external examiner for the Bachelor's and master's degrees in the Fine Arts courses (Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts) and examiner of thesis for Ph.D.[4]
Rajee Narayan was born on 19 August 1931 in Chennai, the 11th child of S. Narayana Iyer and Gangammal. Rajee started to learn Bharatanatyam at age 5, from her elder sister, Neela Balasubramaniam, founder-director, Nataraja Natya Niketan and K. Lalitha, founder-director, Sri Saraswathi Gana Nilayam.[5]
At the age of four, Narayan commercially recorded the composition, 'Neraminchakura' (Shankarabharanam raga – Ikana tala). She also released records on story-telling songs for children and some plays. At that early age, she had started acting and singing her own songs in the movies that her father produced.[6]
She participated in the dance-dramas and Kollata Jothrai festivals, conducted by Kadappai Lakshmiammal, through her sabha, Indumadar Lakshmi Vilasa Sabha, run specially for ladies.[7]
