The slender, supple Ms. Vijayakumar has a stirringly beautiful face, with burning eyes that repeatedly catch the observer’s breath; and she makes those eyes part of the fabric of the dance. …….. she is not just engaging but also authoritative.
— The New York Times, 2011
AboutRukmini Vijayakumar
Rukmini is the Artistic Director of her Classical Dance Company, Raadha Kalpa, the Director of her Art Space, LshVa, and the founder of The Raadha Kalpa Method, a pedagogical system for the practice of Bharatanatyam. One of the most sought-after Bharatanatyam soloists of her generation, Rukmini has performed all over the world. Her style, a unique reflection of her artistic practices. She stands apart with her innovative choreography, athleticism, arresting emotions, and attention to detail.
She has performed as a soloist all over the world, including the Jacobs Pillow Festival (USA), The Drive east festival at LaMama Theater (New York), The India Dans Festival at Korzo Theater (The Hague), Milapfest (Liverpool), Temple of Fine Arts (KL) amongst numerous other venues. She was noticed for her role as “the goddess of love” in Pandit Ravi Shankar’s Opera, ‘Sukanya’, produced by The Royal Opera house, London, 2017.
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"....Standing out is the lithe Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar, a temple dancer in gorgeously colored silks. Everything about her sparkled: her rhythmic footwork, poses, facial expressions, and super-clear hand movements....."
— Seeing dance, Birmingham (Sukanya, Opera) May 2017
Education
Rukmini’s primary training and rigorous practice of Bharatanatyam was under Guru Padmini Rao, Guru Narmada Rao, and Guru Sundari Santhanam. Her ideas of dance are influenced greatly by the movement philosophy of the Natyashastra, which has been preserved through the research of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. These codified movement structures, known as Karanas, were taught to Rukmini at a very young age by Guru Sundari. Also a student of western forms of dance, she graduated in 2008 with a BFA in Modern dance and Ballet from the Boston Conservatory, USA.
Finding Shiva
The applause bursts like rain clattering
From a cloud too heavy to hold,
My elation bathes me as sweat trickles
Down my forehead a moment before
It stings my eye to remind me to see,
They applaud the dance, not me.
If I were to fall prey, my dance entwined
With only moments of applause to remind
Of my days of yore. No never not.
Dance is me and yet not at all…
– Rukmini Vijaykumar
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Discovering Devi
In 2020, Anup J Kat and Vivian Ambrose joined Rukmini on tour during a series of performances for Shivaratri and captured the journey on camera. Finding Shiva is written from the performer’s perspective while Discovering Devi, a coffee table book, conveys the viewer’s perspective through a selection of beautiful photographs.
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