Bharata Natyam
Los Angeles, California
Mythili Prakash stands at the forefront of the next generation of dancers carrying on the 3,000-year-old South Indian dance tradition of Bharata Natyam. A second generation Indian and American artist, she is among the most celebrated Bharata Natyam dancers and choreographers today. Adored by audiences in India and across the diaspora, her mission is to transcend cultural barriers and bring Bharata Natyam into the mainstream of American arts. “Dance was my first language,” she says. “Through the music, the stories, the characters, and the philosophy … I identified the world around me. That’s perhaps why even though my passport and accent are American, my connection with Indian dance is truly what shapes my identity.”
Known for its beauty, elegance, and spirituality, Bharata Natyam is one of the most popular and widely practiced classical dance styles of India. Part of the ancient South Indian Carnatic music tradition, it is characterized by complex melodic and rhythmic frameworks called raga and tala, respectively. A highly spiritual and dedicatory art form rooted in the Natyashastra, a Sanskrit treatise on dance, music, and drama, Bharata Natyam is is comprised of two primary aspects: Nritta, its complex technical and rhythmic foundation, and Nritya, its highly nuanced facial and gestural expressions conveying myths, stories, and spiritual lessons. Following a period of endangerment during India’s colonization, Bharata Natyam experienced a renaissance in the mid-20th century and continues to flourish both in India and across the globe.
Raised in Los Angeles, Mythili grew up surrounded by dance and music, studying several Western classical and South Indian Carnatic instruments and voice. At age four, she began training with her mother, Guru Viji Prakash, a celebrated Bharata Natyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, and disciple of several grandmasters. Mythili made her solo debut in India at the age of eight, continuing her training with several of the most acclaimed Bharata Natyam artists before becoming a student of the great Malavika Sarukkai, considered by many to be “India’s greatest living dancer.”
Celebrated for her technical and virtuosic skill, Mythili’s performances embody the classical tradition while also pushing the boundaries of Bharata Natyam, exploring concepts that further her goals of increasing its accessibility and connecting with new audiences. Mythili has toured several of her own solo productions internationally and was featured on NBC’s Superstars of Dance, introducing Bharata Natyam to the world over. A featured performer in the Akram Khan Company’s 2019 production Outwitting the Devil, she was nominated by Khan as “choreographer of the future” for the Dance Umbrella Festival’s “Four by Four Commissions,” for which she premiered her new work Here and Now.
For this special Richmond Folk Festival virtual celebration, Mythili will be accompanied by her brother, acclaimed Carnatic vocalist Aditya Prakash, as well as Rohan Krishnamurthy on mridangam (double-headed drum), and Arun Ramamurthi on violin.