Guru–shishya, literally
Every student is taught by a guru who knows their body, their voice and their weaknesses by name. Corrections are individual because bodies are.
Home / About
The academy
in Hebbal.
Established in 2006, Nadavidyalaya® has become a fixture of the cultural life of Mysuru — a house where art-loving students bring their dreams and are handed, in return, a tradition.
Our story
It started with two people
who would not compromise.
Vidushi Mithra Naveen had trained under Natyacharya K. Muralidhara Rao and Dr. Kripa Phadke. Vidwan M. S. Naveen had learnt first from his father, Vid. Andagar Srinivas, and then under Guru Dr. R. N. Srilatha and Guru Vid. Pushpa Srinivasan. One was a dancer, the other a vocalist; between them they held both halves of the same art.
In 2006 they opened Nadavidyalaya with an objective they still repeat to every new family who walks in: meticulous training in Carnatic classical music and Bharatanatyam, delivered through the guru–shishya system. Not a syllabus delivered at scale. A relationship.
Twenty years later the academy trains tiny tots and vidwath candidates under the same roof, teaches students abroad through virtual classes, and has sent thirty-eight of its dancers through their rangapravesha.
What we hold to
Four things we refuse to change
Theory with practice
Nobody leaves here able to dance a varnam but unable to explain it. History, purana, raga and tala are taught alongside the practical work.
The stage is part of it
Training that never meets an audience is incomplete. Every student performs annually; seniors are prepared for full-length solo presentations.
Character, not only craft
Alongside the fine arts, students are given the philosophical and ethical grounding that makes a complete human being of culture and tradition.
Inside a year at NAMD
More than the weekly class
Nada Nrityopasana
The annual festival of music and dance, in three streams — Nada Mukula for the youngest dancers, Nadopasana for the youngest musicians, and Nadanrityopasana for seniors and vidwath students.
Felicitation of veterans
Each year we honour senior and veteran artists on our stage, so that children are motivated by the experience of the generation that carried this art to them.
University examinations
Students sit the Junior, Senior, Pre-Vidwath and Vidwath examinations conducted annually by Gangubai Hangal Music University. The highest scorers in music and dance are awarded prizes every year.
Scholarships & auditions
Students are prepared for State and Central scholarships and for graded auditions of Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Rangapravesham
Dance and music students are trained towards their full-fledged solo debut — the rangapravesha — and, beyond it, towards teaching and performing careers of their own.
Workshops & lec-dems
The academy is also an arena for concerts, workshops, lecture demonstrations and projects — including lec-dems on art and culture delivered at colleges and institutions.
For the art seeker
What we have put into the world
Teaching material we have written and recorded, so that the training does not stop at the door of the classroom.
- NAMISUAudio CD for dance practice
- Nritya SudhaHandbook of dance
- Sangeetha SudhaHandbook of Carnatic music
- Dance videosPublished for art seekers on YouTube and online
The shape of two decades
A brief chronology
2006
Nadavidyalaya is founded
Vidushi Mithra Naveen and Vidwan M. S. Naveen open the academy in Hebbal, Mysuru, teaching Bharatanatyam and Carnatic classical vocal in the guru–shishya system.
The early years
A syllabus takes shape
Theory is built into the practical training. Folk styles, yoga with dance, choreography and the Indian puranas enter the dance course; devotional song and Carnatic keyboard enter the music course.
Ongoing
The festival and the examinations
Nada Nrityopasana becomes an annual fixture. Students begin sitting university examinations, winning scholarships, and clearing Doordarshan and All India Radio graded auditions.
Over 20 productions
Original dance dramas
Works conceived and choreographed at the academy travel to national and international platforms — including conferences on climate change, sustainable development, women's empowerment and Ayurveda.
Today
Thirty-eight rangapraveshas, and students on several continents
Disciples of the academy now teach and perform in their own right. Overseas students train in Bharatanatyam and classical vocal through virtual classes.
“To preserve, perpetuate, pervade and propagate the profound, prestigious art of dance and music — by pursuing it through perennial practice and presentation.”
The motive of NAMD