Malini Srinivasan is a third-generation Bharatanatyam artist and the disciple of world-renowned artist Sri C.V. Chandrasekhar. She began learning Bharatanatyam at a young age with her mother Radha Srinivasan and grandmother Komalavalli Mani. She started studying the Kalakshetra style in 2000 with Smt. Savitri Jagganath Rao and performed her Arangetram (debut) under the guidance of Meena Raman. Malini grew up in Maryland, and lived in Chennai from 1999-2004 to pursue her study of dance and its allied art forms such as Nattuvangam, Carnatic vocal music, Kalaripayattu, Yoga, Sanskrit and Tamil.
A critically-acclaimed soloist, Malini has presented solo Bharatanatyam to various audiences in the U.S., India and Europe. She has also performed with groups including the Padmini Chettur Group, Ragamala, Rajika Puri and Dancers, Thresh and Kala Nivedanam.
Malini has choreographed solo and group Bharatanatyam pieces, including Being Becoming, Ode to Love’s Arrows and Tejas-Luminous. She was awarded the Dance in Queens Residency (2009) the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center Residency (2010), and the Queens Council on the Arts Individual Artist Grant (2010, 2012, 2014) and a New Music USA Grant (2016).
Based in Queens, NY, Malini is committed to spreading a deep understanding of Indian classical traditions through teaching. She founded the Gitanjali Dance School in 2009. She has been a visiting artist/lecturer at Princeton University, Wellesley College, UNC Asheville, Brooklyn Friends and Colgate University. From 2006-2016, she served as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Asian & Asian-American Studies Department at SUNY Stony Brook. She is the School Programs Manager and a Teaching Artist with City Lore.
What the critics say:
"The solo is gripping in its toggling between dread and desire. Ms. Srinivasan’s sweet face is incredibly expressive. She inhabits her character with such absolute focus as to compel empathy; her experience becomes the viewer’s." - The NY Times, 8/11/14. Read more
"Srinivasan’s performance displayed a rigorous commitment to refining her practice, showing the difference between executing, or even mastering, steps and articulating every part of the body like a flame.” Culturebot, 6/17/10. Read more
Choreographic works by Malini Srinivasan
August 2014 Night (20 min), Dawn (8 min) and Day (12 min) for Tejas-Luminous. Music composed by Samarth Nagarkar. Premiered at New York International Fringe Festival, 2014.
April 2013 Third Percussion (11 min) with dancer students from SUNY Stony Brook. A collaboration with Iktus Percussion, Commissioned by Dr. Sunita Mukhi and The Charles B. Wang Center
August 2012 Being Becoming (75 min) with dancers Umesh Venkatesan and Kadhambari Sridhar. Presented at the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival
September 2011 The Swan (10 min) with dancers Puneet Panda and Umesh Venkatesan, Commissioned by the Anamika Navatman Project
April 2011 Stealing the Queen’s Royal Jelly (12 min) a collaboration with visual artist Reet Das. Commissioned by the Charles B. Wang Center. For 4 dancers and 3 musicians.
February 2011 Music is an Element (8 min) a collaboration with visual artist Yaya Chou. A solo dance piece.
October 2010 Siva's Grief (15 min) solo dance piece with music composed by Ilari Kaila. Created during the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center residency.
September 2009 Tejas-Luminous (75 min) an evening-length production consisting of group and solo contemporary-classical pieces, each piece reflecting a different time of day. Created in part during the Dance in Queens Residency, produced by the Charles B. Wang Center.
March 2008 Pancha Pushpanjali (6 min), Bhamaro (8 min) and Thillana (12 min), solo classical dance pieces for the ‘Ode to Love’s Arrows’ production.
March 2007 Nami Danam (10 min), solo dance piece set to Qawwali music.
March 2005 Mustard Seed (20 min), solo dance piece with music composed by Ilari Kaila for piano, bass and mrdangam.