IN|FORM | Geetha's Natyalaya
Geetha’s Natyalaya, an Indian Classical Dance School is based in Townsville. Geetha’s Natyalaya’s, Academy Principal, Dr Geetha Sadagopan was born in India and arrived in Australia in 1989.
Bharatanatyam, an Indian Classical Dance, is Geetha’s true passion. The word “Bharatanatyam”, is a compound word in Sanskrit (an ancient Indian Language).
“bhava” - feelings, emotions
ra – raga - the melody, framework for musical notes
ta - tala - the rhythm
natyam - a Sanskrit word for “dance”
Bharatanatyam harmoniously expresses feelings, melody and rhythm through body movements, facial expressions, hand gestures and footwork. This dance form is considered to be more than 2000 years old. The costume of Bharatanatyam consists of a tailored brilliantly coloured Sari (a beautiful form of dress by itself), with a special pleated stitched piece that falls in front and opens like a hand-held fan, when the dancer flexes her knees or performs footwork. The dancers are typically adorned in jewellery, outlining their head or their hair, on their ears, nose and neck.
Since September 2019, Geetha has been living in Townsville, with her husband of 42 years. The previous 24 years of her life had been spent in Adelaide, where she was part and parcel of the community fabric. Not only did she teach dance for free to approximately 140 students on a weekly basis, she and her students were notable participants, in many Multicultural Events organised by the Department of Multicultural Affairs SA, and also in various other community events. To give an idea, in the year 2018, she and her students performed at least on 80 occasions or so and they were also part of Adelaide Fringe and Fringe on Wheels.
Geetha’s Natyalaya is a not-for profit dance school that runs free weekly classes on Indian classical, semi classical and folk dances, for both adults and children. The classes are conducted on a weekly basis, both on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at Oonoonba Community Centre, Townsville. Currently the school has 70 students, consisting of both adults and children. Besides the weekly classes, Geetha’s Natyalaya runs workshops on Bharatanatyam, with the purpose of introducing this dance form to the wider community.
Geetha works full time at a commonwealth research organisation. Yet, she spends a fair bit of her personal time choreographing and teaching Bharatanatyam, free of cost to children and adults. She also practises yoga on a daily basis. She lives and breathes classical arts & community spirit!