Upaasana Akademy of Fine Arts takes pride in upholding the rich and vibrant cultural heritage of India for the past four decades. Imparting knowledge of Indian classical dance forms with an aim to instill a deeper respect for the arts is the mission of Upaasana. We believe in the holistic growth of our students for which alongside teaching the art of dancing, Upaasana strives to inculcate amongst the students an aptitude to understand, appreciate and practice the finer aspects of our cultural heritage, such as having a sense of spirituality, devotion and prayer, respecting elders, being compassionate towards fellow beings, and above all, cultivating a sense of harmony and unity with their peer group. Consistent with this effort, age-old traditions imbibed from celebrated maestros, rare and precious traditional compositions, popular presentations, and brand new conceptualizations are taught giving individual attention to each student. Special care is taken to compose and teach the concepts and items, honouring the individuality and ability of each student. Upaasana believes in nurturing the natural talent and creativity of a student rather than molding stereotypes. Our training method involves an assessment of the progress of each student by the teachers through observation; encouraging regularity in attendance and practice, assuring sincerity in the efforts to attain perfection in presentation while making learning a joyful experience. We have produced several mythological ballets in Indian classical dance styles and have also trained children with disabilities at the ISRO and presented a ballet "Ramayana" with an entire cast of differently-abled children across venues in India. At Upaasana, dance is celebrated, worshipped, and adopted as a way of life; it's a place that resounds with an ever growing passion for the art of dance which gets translated into helping others discover their inner dancer.
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Smt. Jayashree Nair is a well-known dancer, Choreographer, and dance teacher. Upaasana Akademy of Fine Arts, founded by her, has completed 44 years of fruitful existence. Jayashree Nair trained in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, and Kathakali, under eminent Gurus who were doyens in their respective fields. As a practitioner, she has evolved a style of her own, reflecting select traditions of her Gurus.
Jayashree Nair has trained hundreds of students and many of them are now established dancers and dance teachers. She has directed and choreographed several ballets. She is one of the main organizers of Natyanjali, Mumbai, a festival of classical dances during Mahasivaratri (conducted by Sri Subramania Samaj, Chembur) for the past several years.
Jayashree Nair is a recipient of numerous awards and titles and is an invited judge to many classical dance performances.
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Smt. Sujatha Nair is the daughter and disciple of Smt. Jayashree Nair founder director of Upaasana Akademy of Fine Arts, Mumbai. She has been learning Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam from her mother and also from some maestros for more than three decades.
Sujatha has done numerous performances in Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam, all over India and abroad. She is a recipient of the Government of India Scholarship for Bharatanatyam and is an “A” grade artiste of Doordarshan.
She is an accomplished Odissi dancer too. She is learning and performing Odissi under Smt. Debi Basu, senior disciple of Guru late Kelucharan Mahapatra and has numerous performances to her credit.
Sujatha has performed on prestigious stages in India and abroad in festivals like Ananaya Festival, Elephanta Festival, Girnar Mahotsav, ISHA Navaratri Festival, Kalaghoda Festival, Khajuraho Festival, Mumbai Festival, NCPA Mudra Festival, Natyanjlai Festival, Navaneetam's Rangaharsha Festival, Porbandar Sandipani Sangeet Mahotsav, Sirpur Festival, Swamy Haridas Sammelan, India Festival (Ghana, Kuwait, Dubai) etc.
She is a scholarship student of Carnatic music; under late Smt. T.R. Balamani and sings and does nattuvangam for regular stage performances and conducts music classes.
Sujatha teaches Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam in her parent institute Upaasana, for more than 25 years.
She holds a B.A degree in English literature, an M.A in Sanskrit, and an MFa (Bharatanatyam) after completing a two-year course under Dr. Padma Subramaniam at the SASTRA University, Tanjavur.