Hema Rajagopalan

Hema Rajagopalan, a dancer, teacher, and choreographer of international renown, is originally from Chennai, India. A prodigy in Bharatanatyam, classical Indian dance, she performed as a soloist throughout her childhood. She relocated to Chicago in 1974 and began teaching Bharatanatyam to the children in her community as a means of connecting them with their cultural heritage. Her company, Natya Dance Theatre, which evolved from her teaching practice, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.