Guru Anil Natyaveda
Guru Anil Natyaveda is the Co-Director of SINDHOOR & NATYAVEDA - Navarasa Dance Theater. Originally from Thiruvananthapuram, India, he is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, and expert martial artist in Kalarippayattu, and has taught and performed around the world. Anil trained in Kalari ppayattu with teachers in Northern Kerala style and Southern Kerala style, under gurus Govindan Kutti Gurukal, Chellappan Aasan and Babu Raj Gurukal. Anil is among the very few who have mastered both these styles. He is also an expert in the healing arts (physical therapy and bodywork). Anil also studied with Vembayam Appukuttan and Sasidharan Asan.
Along with Kalari ppayattu, he trained in classical, contemporary, and aerial dance forms. He has a degree in dance from Sree Swathithirunal Music College, India and acquired a teacher-training degree in Dance under Project Sakrthaya. He has been a professional dancer since 1991 and has been teaching dance and martial arts in the U.S., Canada, and India for over 15 years. Notable performance venues include the Edinburgh Dance Festival, Germany International Summer Theatre Festival, Hong Kong Art Festival, Khajuraho Dance Festival, Singapore Arts Festival, Bates Dance Festival, La MaMa NYC, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and numerous universities across the U.S. Anil has choreographed for cinema, including the Malayalam hit movie, Santhosh Sivan’s film, Anandabadhram. He has been honored with awards from the Kerala State Guru Gopinath Trust (Natyaratnam), the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (Meena Srinivasan Memorial Award), the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (Master-Apprentice Award), and the India Darshan National Integration Award (Malanadu News) for his contribution to movement arts and arts in society. He has collaborated with masters in Capoeira, Karate, and Kung Fu in the US. As co-director of Sindhoor & Natyaveda – Navarasa Dance Theater, he currently teaches in Los Angeles and San Jose, California, U.S. and online, performs in the U.S., Canada, and India, and co-directs Navarasa’s Dance for Everyone free training program in Kerala, India.
In Anil’s words: “Kalari is my life. I have performed and taught Kalari across three continents for almost 25 years. As a child and adolescent, I was obsessed with the form. Sometimes I wouldn’t eat because I would run to the school to practice. I lived with the movements all the time. Kalari taught me to respect my teachers, my elders and humanity; it taught me how to be a proper human being and to respect everything on this earth. I teach Kalari to people of all ages and backgrounds. Kalari is my career, my passion, my body, and my lens to see the world.”