Shakti

Born on May 19, 1957 in Kyoto, Japan.   Her late father, Professor S.N. Chakravarty, was a professor of English at the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies and the founder and director of the Gandhi Institute, a cultural organization teaching Indian Philosophy, culture, and language.  Her mother, VasantaMala (Yae Yamato) is Japanese, and is the first to bring the true form of Indian dance to Japan.  She is the founder and director of the VasantaMala Indian Dance Institute which has its headquarters in Kyoto and a branch in Tokyo.

Shakti was trained in classical Indian Dance by her mother from the age of three and also studied under the foremost gurus of India.  She was trained in yoga and philosophy by her father.  She received her MA in Indian Philosophy from Columbia University, New York, where she also studied modern dance under Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and jazz dance legend, Luigi.

Upon returning to Japan, Shakti created a new form of dance blending the two cultures that she is a product of and adding the western culture she was educated in.  Her dance is based on the technique of classical Indian dance and yoga.  It has the the control of yoga and the classic but yet has the freedom and energy that speaks to the people today.  She has performed for ex-prime minister, Indira Gandhi and the Imperial Family of Japan.

Currently she has become a resident of Australia.

“In Shakti the fiery emotion of ancient India contrast with the calm ethereal
realm of of Oriental Buddhism.  Her dancing genius creates compelling
tension that plays and entices, and entwines and teases, and finally
expresses and unifies these two unique “Ways”
as only true art can do:
beyond logic, words, and time.” 

<New York Times>

“Dance genuis has been used to describe more than once
 the fiery mix of beauty, brains, aritistic ambiguity and tantalizingly sexual cheekiness
that makes up the brilliance we know as Shakti. 
But Shakti is more than just a dancer.  She has become a beacon for those
 that wish to throw away the shackles of the world in which we live
but never quite dare to.”

<G. King - director Southwest Anglo-Japanese Society>

Shakti challenges:

Perceptions of erotica
Nature of dance
Meaning of culture
Borders of art
Philosophy of life

Awards

2^nd place in All Japan Dance Contest in 1972

Kyoto Prefectural Government Arts and Culture Medal of Honour  in 1982

“Spirit of the Fringe” award in Edinburgh in 1995 and 2000

Japan Festival Award in London in 2000

Collaborations with major artists:

Evelyn Glennie - UK percussionist

Seiichi Tanaka and the San Fransisco Taiko Dojo -Japanese drums

Oguchi Daihachi and the Osuwa Taiko- Japanese drums

Pepe el Chocolata  - flamenco guitarist

Chikuzan - tsugaru shamisen (3 stringed zither of Japan)

Katsuumi Niwa - opera tenor

Geoff Smith - dulcimer (UK)

Steven Severin - musician (UK)

Kitaro - musician (Japan)

Major Performance Venues:

Lincoln Centre - New York   (Himiko -  Sun Goddess of Japan)

Town Hall - New York  (The Dancing Goddess)

Berkley Zellerbach Theatre - San Fransisco  (with San Fransisco Taiko Dojo)

Palais de Congres - Versailles  (The Dancing Goddess)

ICA - London   (The Woman in the Dunes)

Riverside Studios - London  (Eros of Love & Destruction)

Soho Art Theatre - London  (The Pillow Book)

Reading Concert Hall - Reading  (with Evelyn Glennie)

Saylis Bennie Theatre - Brighton University  (Sex & Consumerism)

Russia Concert Hall - Moscow (Kama Sutra)

Lenin Theatre - Kiev  (Rashomon)

Kyoto Concert Hall   (Salome)

Kyoto Prefectural Arts Hall   (The Woman in the Dunes)

New National Theatre - Tokyo  (The Tibetan Book of the Dead)

Setagaya Public Theatre - Tokyo  (Salome)

Aoyama Enkei Theatre - Tokyo (The Woman Who Dances With the Wolves)

Oriental Theatre - Kobe  (Salome)

Red Brick Warehouse - Yokohama  (Empire of the Senses  / Realm of Desire)

Countries:

Japan, India, UK, USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaidjan, Yugoslavia, Hong Kong, Korea, China, Israel, Australia.

Shakti is a major performer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where she has been performing since 1994. 

She also performs regularly at the Avignon Public Off and the Montreal Fringe Festival.  She is an icon at all the festivals. 

October 20^th - Shakti has been nominated by “NewsWeek” magazine as one of the 100 Japanese People the World Respects.  (She is of Indian nationality.)

She is listed in the top 3 along with Emperor Hirohito and Sumo Wrestler Konishiki as one of the pioneers who made an impact into the world.

Now that she has migrated to Australia, she is determined to strive for a similar impact.