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The story of Bhaskar’s Arts Academy began way back in 1952, when founder K.P. Bhaskar, Kerala-born dancer trained in Kathakali and a mix of other Indian dance forms, performed in Singapore to great sensation and soon settled down to teach dance to the culturally starved Indian community in the British colony. The Bhaskar’s Academy of Dance was formed.
In the nation-building days of the 1960s, the dance academy toured all over Singapore performing in numerous multicultural shows known as “Aneka Ragam Rakyat” as part of national rallies promoting the Singapore identity. After Singapore’s independence in 1965, the academy also performed regularly for dignitaries from various countries at state functions.
The academy’s principal choreographer, Santha Bhaskar, wife of K.P. Bhaskar is the 1990 winner of the Cultural Medallion in Singapore . The other main choreographer, Meenakshy Bhaskar Schofield, their daughter, is recipient of the Young Artist Award in 1996.
For several years the academy held its activities at the National Theatre. In 1987 the Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society was registered as a non-profit organisation and housed under a government scheme along with other arts groups in Stamford Arts Centre, Waterloo Street, right in the busy city centre. The society soon grew to one of the world’s biggest Indian music and dance institutions with more than 3,000 members.
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In 1999 the Bhaskar’s Arts Academy was incorporated as a professional performing arts company and it was subsequently accorded charity status by the Government. Henceforth it functions alongside the affiliated teaching wing of Nrityalaya. Among its new ventures is the Bhaskar’s Arts Gallery, the only of its kind in Singapore highlighting Indian visual arts.
Through the years, the academy has been known not only for championing traditional Indian music and dance but also for its cross-cultural innovations. In 1956, the academy staged the Chinese fairy tale of Butterfly Lovers in Bharatanatyam dance style, a production that proved an unprecedented hit among the Chinese community. In 1996, Manohra, a dance drama blending Thai dance styles was presented at the Singapore Arts Festival.
In 2002, the academy formed a Kathakali troupe which is the only of its kind outside India. It has performed unique dance dramas in the Tamil and Malay languages and also presented an unprecedented full-night performance of the Mahabharata story at “Maha Mela”, an outdoor event that was part of Singapore Arts Festival 2004.
MILESTONES
1952 Bhaskar’s Academy of Dance established in Singapore.
1956 The Academy’s Bharatanatyam rendition of Chinese legend Butterfly Lovers was a sensational success.
1963 K.P. Bhaskar received the Pingat Jasa Gemilang award from the President, the only artiste in performing arts thus honoured. The Academy is housed at the newly opened National Theatre.
1987 Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society registered and housed in Stamford Arts Centre.
1990 Santha Bhaskar won Cultural Medallion.
1996 The dance drama Manohra choreographed by Santha Bhaskar, fusing Indian and Thai dance, was performed as part of the Singapore Arts Festival. Meenakshy Bhaskar won Young Artist Award.
1999 Bhaskar’s Arts Academy registered and subsequently received support from National Arts Council under its Annual Grants Scheme, as the only Indian performing arts group so chosen.
2004 California branch of Bhaskar’s Arts Academy officially opened in Folsom.
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