Shyama Iyer

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Shyama Iyer is a scholar-artist who explores the intersection between Indian classical and American musical theatre performance practices. Iyer began her journey in Bharatha Natyam (South Indian classical dance) at the age of three, under her mother, Guru Akila Iyer. She did her first solo Bharatha Natyam concert at the age of 13 under Guru Dr. Vasundara Doraswamy of Mysore, India. She has given performances in venues throughout the United States and India, most recently at the Nirantaram Festival in Bangalore, India. Iyer teaches and co-directs the Guru Vandana Arts Academy, an Indian classical dance and music school in Kentucky, and conducts the Geeva Arts Festival (A festival of the Indian classical arts) every summer. In 2019, Iyer became an Indian Raga Fellow and has been featured in Bharata Natyam videos that have garnered over 500K views on Youtube. A few of her Director-Choreographer credits include Raasa Dhirana (2021), The Ramayana (2020), Shringara: An Indian classical music theatre retelling of love (2019), The Vaigai Express (2019), and The First Breath (2018). Iyer earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Musical Theatre and a minor in Dance from Western Kentucky University. She will complete her Masters of Arts at the Ohio State University in May of 2022. https://www.shyamaiyer.com