Chitra Visweswaran

Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai.

At thirteen, Visweswaran choreographed the life of Saint Tyagaraja in the form of a varnam, the most demanding type of piece in the Bharata Natyam repertoire.

She wanted to move to Chennai (then called Madras) after finishing school to pursue a career in dance, but her parents insisted that she complete a college degree.

[7] Visweswaran started teaching dance in Kolkata at the age of sixteen, and in 1975, she established the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA) in Chennai.

In 1980, Visweswaran choreographed her first major dance drama, Devi Ashta Rasa Malika, which helped popularise the concept of group formations in Bharata Natyam.

On the 50th anniversary of India's independence, the BBC invited her to present a specially choreographed program at Symphony Hall in Birmingham that was telecast internationally on 15 August 1997.

She is a trustee of the India Foundation for the Arts and a member of the Indian government committee that selects candidates for scholarships and fellowships in Bharata Natyam.

In addition, in India's 50th year of independence, she was awarded the titles of Mahila Shiromani (distinguished woman of Indian origin) and Sthree Ratna (gem amongst women).