Mayuri Upadhya

Artistic director: Nritarutya

Adhyaya, is Nritarutya's festival of dance, celebrating innovation and tradition. It programs and showcases works for Bangalore audiences, inviting artists from across the world with works that are a combination of "innovation and tradition". For the first time in 2018, Adhyaya opened its doors to applications from artists the world over seeking an avant-garde platform to perform their works in, receiving 120 entries.^{[citation needed]}

Mayuri's experimental creation initiative Prayog, is a festival that commissions and showcases out-of-the-box Indian dance compositions. All the commissions follow the rule of interpreting mythology in contemporary ways, and is often a mix of designers, musicians, painters, choreographers, dancers, and theatre artists.^{[citation needed]}

She received critical acclaim in 2004 with her work ‘Ardhanarishwara’, which talked about the masculinity and the femininity residing within each of us. Oum, Yantra, Footnote, Dwandwa, are few of her earliest works.^{[citation needed]}

After a commission by the Wadiyar of Mysore to create a piece for their kul-devi (a family deity), Mayuri choreographed the highly acclaimed and successful ‘Kali’ in the year 2008, which talks about the deepest recesses of one's unconsciousness.

‘Parched – 1st Cut’, was created for the Serendipity Arts Festival 2016. The scarcity of water, humankind's mistakes and the obscure truth of our future the highlights of this piece. ‘Parched – Choreographer’s Cut’ is a work-in-progress full length production which Mayuri is working on currently.

Other independent work

In 2019, Mayuri choreographed the musical Raunaq and Jassi, directed by Feroze Abbas Khan, and produced by Book My Show. It is a Punjabi take on Romeo and Juliet. Her expertise is sought to choreograph on typical Punjabi folk numbers in the musical.

In 2015, Mayuri won the prestigious Uday Shankar Award for Choreography.

The same year, she was commissioned by the Prime Minister of India to create a special dance sequence for the Make In India week in Germany, following which, she was commissioned again to create another piece for the Make In India Week in Mumbai, in 2016. Make In India inaugural dance sequence won the European Event Award for the Best Cultural Performance.

In 2012, she also performed with the Raghu Dixit Project for Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee Celebrations in the UK.

Over the past years, Mayuri has also worked with various fashion designers, like Abu Jaani - Sandeep Khosla, Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi, Anju Modi, Hemant Trivedi, Manish Arora and Wendell Rodricks, and choreographed dance pieces inspired by their fashion lines.

She is also the only choreographer who was invited to create a concept choreography commemorating the martyrs of the 26/11 shooting. It featured megastar Shri Amitabh Bachchan. Event was titled '26/11 - Stories of Strength', a memorial event organised by The Indian Express Group

Mayuri is one of the judges for the dancing reality shows Dancing Stars Seasons 2 and 3 (a BBC production), Master Dancer (a Viacom 18 production on Colors Network) and Dancing Champion (a Lokesh Productions).