Aniruddha Knight

Aniruddha Knight (November 13, 1980) is an artist of the Indian classical dance and music known as Bharatanatyam. The dances are traditionally performed by women - Knight is unusually the first male of his family to take up this style of dance. Aniruddha's childhood was an endless round of dancing. Initiated into the family's style of art by an aging Balasaraswati, Aniruddha's first formal lessons began at the age of six with mother Lakshmi, Balasaraswati's daughter.

Training

A trained classical dancer, Aniruddha Knight brings intrinsic exposure to the varied nuances of Bharatnatyam and Carnatic Music. Traditionally Bharatanatyam was a way of life requiring complete devotion, and in the case of the Balasaraswatis, a performing family that completely embraced the art.

Having received intensive Bharatnatyam lessons as well as vocal training from his mother Lakshmi Knight, Aniruddha's classical music skills were further honed by T. Muktha and T. Viswanathan. Currently under the tutelage of Smt. Veghavahini, daughter of T. Brinda, for vocal music and the Veena, Aniruddha continues to take advanced lessons from Shyamala Mohan, one of Balasaraswati's key disciples.

Career

Aniruddha Knight is the artistic director of Bala Music & Dance, a school of dancing in Middletown. His debut performance at the Jacob Pillow Festival (1997) in Massachusetts, began his career in the arts. He was featured in Newsweek magazine as one of 16 youngsters poised to re-shape India's future.

In 2008, he was chosen for the National Dance Project Grant, which recognized Bharatanatyam as a mainstream contemporary art form in the U.S. and covered a four-month tour across the United States.

Grants and awards

Aniruddha Knight has been the recipient of several grants from the US government.

New Jersey Council for the Arts 1997, 1999 Asian Cultural Council - 1997, 2007 The LEF Foundation- 2004, 2008 National Endowment for the Arts 2005 NEFA’s National Dance Project grant 2008 New England Foundation for Arts 2011