Pallavi Saran Mathur

Bharatanatyam Dancer

 

Pallavi has been a disciple of India’s legendary dancer and dance guru, Padma Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh, for over 16 years. She started her professional career as a solo dancer in 2001. At her debut performance, the internationally acclaimed Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar said  Pallavi is a wonderful upcoming artist - she is beautiful, she has all the correct guidance and possibility…”

 

Since then, Pallavi has steadily built up a record of scintillating performances at prestigious cultural institutions in India & around the world. She is an empanelled artist with the ICCR (Indian Council of Cultural Relations). In 2004, India's leading women's magazine, Femina featured Pallavi among the top 45 Indian women from various fields who are “on the fast track”.   The same year, she was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Ekta Award for her contribution to national integration through Dance. In 2009, Pallavi has received the Nalanda Nritya Nipuna Award from the Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya (Nalanda Centre for Dance Research - Mumbai) and the Singar Mani Award from the Sur Singar Samsad - Mumbai.

 

Pallavi is a graduate in English Literature from India's leading college for women, the Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. She gained important insights into western culture from this course of study, and she uses them to interpret her Art to western audiences.  Her special endeavor is to reach out to audiences that  are not familiar with the language of the lyrics or the complexity of this art form. Her performances, lecture-demonstrations and workshops incorporate a lucid explanation of  Indian philosophy and mythology in small doses and in an easily digestible format, linking India’s rich traditions, its dance, music, art, architecture and sculpture with Life as seen on the streets of India today.

 

Pallavi is deeply committed to community service. After the Tsunami tragedy, she worked as a manual laborer with teams of Rotarians from UK, USA, and Australia, to help build an orphanage for Tsunami children in South India. She then presented seven charity performances in USA and UK that helped Rotary members to raise funds for 40 permanent houses for Tsunami victims. Pallavi continues to work for community service projects through Rotary International.