Mayuri Upadhya (born 30 December 1979) is an Indian choreographer, dancer, entrepreneur and TV personality based in Bengaluru, India. She is also the Artistic Director of the Bengaluru-based dance organisation, Nritarutya. In January 2018, Mayuri was voted the Best Choreographer by BroadwayWorld, for the longest running musical in Indian history. Mayuri is the winner of the International Choreography Award, Seoul, Uday Shankar Awards for Choreography, and a Manav Ratna for her contribution to Indian arts and culture, in addition to numerous other awards. Biography Family and Training Mayuri was born in the coastal town of Udupi, Karnataka to Muralidhar Upadhya and Shamala Upadhya on 30 December 1979. She is the youngest of two siblings. Her elder sister Madhuri Upadhya is also a choreographer, and is the Associate Director of Nritarutya. Mayuri is an alumnus of Sri Vani Education Centre and a graduate from MES College of Arts, Commerce & Science. Training She trained in Bharatanatyam under Indira Kadambi and Minal Prabhu, and Odissi under Uday Shetty. She has also trained in Kathak under Guru Maya Rao and Jayanthi Eswarputhi, and Kalaripayattu under Ranjan Mullaratt. She also has the Arts Council England’s Artist Management credentials to her credit. Career Mayuri’s career has foraged beyond the traditional dance network. Her canvas of work depicts a wide range. A beautifully balanced mix of visual interpretations, cultural sensitivity, conditioning future generations, and capacity building, marks her two decades long journey. The spectrum of her creativity features the cinemascopic renditions, experimental works, emotion-stirring choreography on one hand (her contemporary work, Bollywood movies like Mirzya, the epic musical ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ and ‘Raunaq and Jassi’, and Harivanshrai Bachchan's ‘Madhushala’, to name a few), and her curatorial and conceptualizing prowess on the other hand (designing and leading the Sublime's Teaching for Arts India initiative, curating the dance portfolio for Serendipity Arts Festival (2019-2020), and actively working in preserving and promoting cultural traditions by presenting it in the modern context). And to top it all, Bangalore based dance organization Nritarutya is growing steady and strong under her artistic direction. Artistic Director - Nritarutya Founded in 2000, Nritarutya, today, has become one of the foremost contemporary dance organisations in the country with path-breaking creative works, pioneering employment reforms for artists, and introducing creative platforms like Adhyaya and Prayog to the dance fraternity. Adhyaya, is Nritarutya's festival of dance, celebrating innovation and tradition. It programs and showcases never-before-seen works for Bangalore audiences,