'''Mythili Kumar''' is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She performs the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi styles of Indian classical dance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2015/04/09/san-jose-south-indian-dancer-and-teacher-honored-for-lifetime-of-service/|title=San Jose South Indian Dancer and Teacher Honored for Lifetime Service|work=KQED Arts|access-date=2017-09-07|language=en-us}}</ref> She is the founder of Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard |first=Rachel |date=April 9, 2015 |orig-date=April 9, 2015 |title=San Jose South Indian Dancer and Teacher Honored for Lifetime Service {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/10545681/san-jose-south-indian-dancer-and-teacher-honored-for-lifetime-of-service |access-date=October 8, 2024 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ts'ao |first=Aimée |date=October 31, 2018 |title=Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose focuses new work on Martin Luther King Jr. |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/31/abhinaya-dance-company-of-san-jose-focuses-new-work-on-martin-luther-king-jr/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}</ref> and a lecturer in dance at University of California, Santa Cruz.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://theater.ucsc.edu/faculty/mythili-kumar|title=Mythili Kumar|website=UC Santa Cruz, Theatre Department|language=en|access-date=2017-09-07}}</ref>
== Biography == As founder and director of Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose since 1980,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2011/07/15/passions-mountain-view-woman-is-software-engineer-also-classical-indian-dancer/|title=Passions: Mountain View woman is software engineer, also classical Indian dancer|date=2011-07-15|website=The Mercury News|access-date=2017-09-07}}</ref> Kumar has trained and presented over one hundred dancers in their solo debuts and has collaborated extensively with several multi-cultural organizations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiacurrents.com/custodians-of-tradition/|title=Custodians of Tradition - India Currents|date=2010-08-05|work=India Currents|access-date=2017-09-07|language=en-US}}</ref> She has also taught classes at San Jose State University and Stanford University.<ref name=":2" />
Kumar's two daughters, Rasika and Malavika, are active in the dance company and have been trained in classical Indian dance since age 4.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2010/03/29/dance-company-kicks-off-its-30th-anniversary-season-celebration/|title=Dance company kicks off its 30th anniversary season celebration|date=2010-03-29|website=The Mercury News|access-date=2017-09-07}}</ref>
Collaborative performances include:
* ''The Guru'' with Kathak maestro Chitresh Das and his dance company * ''In the Spirit'' (1993) with Japanese drumming corps San Jose Taiko, with Margaret Wingrove and her modern dance company * ''The Ramayana'' (1997) with the Balinese music and dance ensemble Gamelan Sekar Jaya * ''Vande Mataram - Mother, I bow to thee'' (1997) featuring three different Indian classical dance styles * ''The Power of Saturn'' (1999) with Shadow Master Larry Reed and Shadow Light Productions * ''Gandhi - the Mahatma'' (1995) for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco
== Awards == In 2010, Kumar was awarded the Malonga Casquelourd Lifetime Achievement Award by San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.<ref name=":1" /> She received the choreographer's fellowships from 1989 until 1993 and a teacher's recognition certificate in 1998 from the National Endowment for the Arts.<ref name=":2" />
==See also== *Indian women in dance *List of people from San Jose, California
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Notes == *{{citation|title=Dancer enlivens Indian culture|journal=San Jose Mercury News|date=April 13, 1990}}. *{{citation|title=Dance teacher to get award from Cupertino|journal=San Jose Mercury News|date=September 16, 1992}}. *{{citation|title=The muse that makes her dance: Mythili Kumar keeps her Indian heritage alive in a land of pop and pizza|journal=San Jose Mercury News|date=February 15, 1998}}. *{{citation|title=Los Gatans honored as women of achievement|url=http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/lgwt/11.11.98/LosGatansHonored.html|journal=Los Gatos Weekly-Times|date=November 11, 1998}}. *{{citation|title=Dramatic Gesture: Mythili Kumar shares Indian traditions with the art of the dance|first=Shari|last=Kaplan|journal=Saratoga News|date=January 27, 1999|url=http://www.svcn.com/archives/saratoganews/01.27.99/CoverStory.html}}. *{{citation|title=Nurturing an Indian tradition in the Bay Area: how three teachers used varied approaches to an art form that takes years to master|journal=San Jose Mercury News|date=November 15, 2003}}. *{{citation|title=Keeping classical dance traditions alive - the Abhinaya Dance Company|url=http://waternoice.com/2008/11/15/keeping-classical-dance-traditions-alive-the-abhinaya-dance-company/|journal=Water, No Ice|date=November 15, 2008}}.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Mythili}} Category:American artists of Indian descent Category:Artists from San Jose, California Category:American female dancers Category:Living people Category:Kuchipudi dancers Category:Indian female classical dancers Category:20th-century American dancers Category:20th-century Indian dancers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:20th-century American women educators Category:20th-century American educators Category:20th-century Indian women educators Category:21st-century American women educators Category:21st-century American educators Category:American performers of Indian classical dance Category:21st-century American dancers