Anuradha Samrat began her Bharatanatyam journey at the age of 6 at Kalasagara, Chennai, run by sisters Smt.Malathy Thotadri and Smt.Usha Raghavan, themselves students of Shri Adyar Lakshmanan and Smt.Kalanidhi Narayanan. She simultaneously started Carnatic music lessons from Smt.Savitri Satyamurti. She presented her Bharatanatya arangEtram at the age of 11. While pursuing her Masters in Physics in Illinois, she started learning Mohiniyattam from Smt.Smitha Rajan at St.Louis. Anu has danced at various venues in India, in the USA and in Berlin, Germany. She was a judge at a classical dance competition in Dubin, Ireland. She was awarded the “Natya Ratna” by Trinity Arts Foundation, Chennai, in 2014. She runs a dance school Alapadma in the greater Seattle area, where she offers lessons in both Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam. Anu is the recipient of the Washington State Heritage Arts Apprenticeship’s Master awardee for 2024-25.
Anu is a life-long learner as she continues dance lessons, now in Sattriya and music (Dhrupad). www.alapadma.net