Place: Bangalore, India
School/Organization:
Website:
Youtube: Videos
Chandra Layout 80ft Road,
Gururaju is a Bangalore based kuchipudi Artist. He is trained under the guidance of Smt. Vyjayanthi Kashi, SNA Awardee, celebrity dancer and guru. He is a part of the Shambhavi Dance Ensemble playing important roles, touring the country and abroad (Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Mauritius, Dubai, China, Romania and Italy) for many national and international prestigious dance festivals, performing in group productions choreographed by his Guru Vyjayanthi Kashi. He had given many solo performances in India and which were acclaimed extensively by the art lovers and audience.
The saying ‘it’s never too late’ may have become a cliché but, like many clichés, is true in Gururaju’s life too. Gururaju was not fortunate enough to start learning classical dance in early childhood. It was at the age of 20, that he discovered the dancer in him. Today, he is one of the most sought-after distinguished young male Indian classical kuchipudi dancers in our country. As he performs a composition in kuchipudi, his devotion to dance unfolds itself. His graceful movements, combined with sharp intellect and its application, have never failed to keep the audience spellbound.
He is a Performer, Teacher, Assistant Choreographer, yoga practitioner and works as Manager in Shambhavi School of Dance headed by Smt. Vyjayanthi Kashi. He was associated with the Kuchipudi Dance Workshops conducted by Guru Vyjayanthi Kashi at various part of Karnataka organized by Spic Macay.
Achievements:
· He is a graded artist of Doordharshan Kendra, Bangalore.
· He is recipient of ‘RAM GOPAL BEST MALE SOLOIST NATIONAL AWARD 2017” from Attendance, Ashish Khokar, and Bangalore.
· He is a recipient of “Guru Kadirvelu Pillai Nrithya Sadhaka 2016” from Brahmanad, Mumbai.
· He is recipient of “ Natyakala Chatura” from MN Gurukul, Mangalore.
· He is a recipient of “Nalanda Nrithya Nipuna” an award instituted by the Nalanda Dance Research Centre, Mumbai.
· He is a receiving the title “Nruthya Jyothi” from Naveen Kalakar, Orissa
· He is a recipient of “Naatya Kumara” an award from NMDA, Vizag.
· The Best Student Award 2016 from Shambhavi School, Bangalore.
· He is a recipient of “Kalpataru Kala Sanman” from KP Foundation, Solapur
· He is a recipient of “ Nupura Kala Ratna 2017” from NFAA, Mumbai.
· He is recipient of “Padma Sri Salu Marada Thimma Gaurava Puraskar 2019 from SMT Foundation, Bangalore.
· He is recipient of Atulya Nrithya Prathiba 2020 from Prathibotsav, Nagpur.
· He is the recipient Vocation Excellence National Award 2021 from NISED Bangalore.
PRESS SAYS:
Gururaju’s choice of abhinaya very well justified the diverse dance pieces he presented and we strongly recommend him as an artist to be watched repeatedly- India International Centre, New Delhi
Sandhya Tandavam was outstanding and a new element added to Kuchipudi performance seen in the north and proved his mettle as a dancer in this energetic choreography – Narthaki – Abhinaya Nagajyothy – Researcher – New Delhi
In Dover Lane Music Conference Gururaju, wove magic with his presentation of Vyjayanthi Kashi’s outstanding choreography. The sharpness and precision of his movements demonstrated rare diligence while his use of space had both the neatness and finesse of a fine performer – The Telegraph News – Kathakali Jana, Kolkata
His abundant energy and considerable skills made him stand out to be the best performer of the evening at Dover Lane Music Conference – Narthaki – Padma Sri Dr. Utpal K Banergee, Kolkata
Gururaju from Bangalore, impressed the audience with his performance at the three-day cultural extravaganza – The Hitavada – Art Critic, Nagpur
The dancer has to maintain perfect rhythm and balance too which is not an easy task. He performed with ease and perfection. Gururaju can definitely be among the main rank of dancers – Narthaki – Vijay Shankar, Mumbai
Gururaju making his kuchipudi recital rich in flavour. The performance was good in patches with some well executed dance phrases – The Hindu, Hareesh N Nampoothiri, Kerala
The highlight of the festival this year was the celebration of the strength and beauty of male dancers. Kuchipudi dancer Gururaju from Bangalore and some other male dancers were show stealers – The Hindu, Shyamhari Chakra, North Bengal
Gururaju enacted abhinaya with restraint and with suggestive sanchari bhavas without exaggerating emotions – Narthaki – PadmaShri Dr Sunil Kothari, Bangalore
Gururaju impresses with artistry of movement and his performance was diligent and mudras were well depicted and strikingly visible – Narthaki – Bhavanvitha Venkat, Vizag
Gururaju’s good health and physique, the hasta accompanied by a bhanga, appearing with the words Gururaju, involves the hands raised above the head where hey stylistically come together to tie a knot. The result is a fascinatingly esoteric image and stays with me despite remaining just that – Ativilambit Blogspot – New Delhi
Gururaju was floating on stage not dancing kuchipudi, such effortless dance full of beauty and joy and depth – Narthaki – Ashish Mohan Khokar- Dance Historian, Bangalore
Gururaju is well trained dancer then turned to a miniature Ramayana Shabdha and Sadhya Tandava, to which the local viewers are not commonly exposed – Narthaki - Dr. S D Desai, Ahmedabad
Gururaju did his Guru Vyjayanthi Kashi proud and danced with depth – Narthaki – Ashish Mohan Khokar, Dance Historian – Bangalore
Gururaju a student of Vyjayanthi Kashi, he was pretty good with his dancing and usage of stage was the best part of his performance – Dance in and out- Web Magazine, Bangalore
The student of Vyjayanthi Kashi has evolved into a mature dancer, was very well presented by Gururaju – Narthaki – Sowmya jayabharathwaj, Aurangabad
Beautiful, neat lines and body work made his dance very enjoyable to Mumbai audience who does not get to watch kuchipudi very often – Narthaki – Sanjuktawagh, Mumbai
Vibrant Kuchipudi Natya, Young dancer Gururaj stole the show with his typical kuchipudi natya features – The city express – Dr. Surya Prasad, Bangalore
Gururaju in his racy, graceful and energetic rendition was marked by vivid and varied charis and karanas accounting for an excellent nritta – The New Indian Express – Dr Surya Prasad, Bangalore
His vigorous tandava movements were perfectly etched – The New Indian Express – Dr Surya Prasad, Bangalore
A neat kuchipudi recital by Gururaju – Narthaki – Shalaka Deshpande, Aurangabad
Splendid & Incredible performance by Gururaju. The foot work to adavus and hand movements to swaras are graceful, subtle and beautiful movements – Samskruthi Magazine, Chennai
He performed with a lot of gay abandon and his perfect striking poses were noteworthy. A right amount of grace was evident in this dancer – Ananya Kalasinchana – Radhika Ranga, Bangalore
Enchanting style and grace of kuchipudi Natya. This promising and ardent male dancer demonstrated his good hold over the pure dance and discharging the intricate jathis and aduvus with ease – The New Indian Express – Dr. M Surya Prasad, Bangalore
Gururaj responded well to the intricacies of rhythms with clean bodily movements and gestures – Deccan Herald – Prof. Mysore Subramaniam, Bangalore
The highlight of the evening, Gururaju performed Sandhya Tandavam – Deccan Heralad, Art Critic, Bangalore
His commanding stage presence and overall fine training made him a worthy talent to watch – Narthaki – Ashish Mohan Khokar, Orissa
Handsome and graceful dancer from Bangalore – Gururaju were the saving grace in the non-odissi segment and the youngest dancer of the festival, made his debut as a soloist giving glimpses of a promising future – The Hindu – Shamhari Chakra, Bhubaneshwar
