One of the best-known exponents of Bharatnatyam, Chitra Visweswaran has been trained, right from her early years, in this traditional dance form.
She has travelled across India and also given performances abroad. She runs a dance school – Chidambaram, in Chennai, where students are given a holistic formation in classical dance and music. Her husband R. Visweswaran is a Carnatic vocalist-composer. He is the disciple of Santoor (Classical Musical Instrument) expert Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. Both have dedicated their lives to teaching Indian Dance and Music.
Chitra has bagged many laurels for her contribution towards Bharatnatyam. She is the first dancer to be invited to occupy the Rabindranath Tagore Chair of Fine Arts in the University of Madras.
She was awarded the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamilnadu and the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award. The President of India conferred the Padmashri award on her in 1992.
