…watching the Bharatanatyam dancer Mythili Prakash on Saturday at Symphony Space, I had the luxurious experience of losing track of time, of forgetting about the future. What causes this rare phenomenon? Is it the dancer’s immersion in her own present moment, so strong as to pull us in?

The New York Times, 2016

Mythili Prakash belongs to a new generation of classical Indian dancers. She is one of the most celebrated and respected young Bharata Natyam dancer/choreographers today. A second generation Indian and American artist, Mythili has positioned herself as a global and cosmopolitan artist through her unique experiences and collaborations Her repertoire is an embodiment of narratives of the many worlds that shape her.

“Mythili is an artist who truly carries us to the sublime. She embodies a spectacular combination of narrative dimension that is filled with deep insight and invention and a technical form that is dazzlingly impressive. She elevates the audience to a sense of wonder,” says Judy Mitoma, Producer and Curator – World Festival of Sacred Music & Aratani World Series. “This is the magic of the universal appeal of Mythili’s work. Her personal understanding of the form allows her to transcend technique. Her physical beauty and athletic performance on the other hand make the audience aware that they are in the presence of virtuosic skill at the highest level. This combined with her storytelling skills bring the viewer to an emotional appreciation of the divine. It is her surrender to the art, her dedication, and her virtuosity that the audience can read and appreciate. The wonder is that she was born on American soil.”

Raised in Los Angeles, she grew up in an environment filled with dance and music, under the watchful eye of her mother and teacher dance exponent Viji Prakash. Mythili began her performing career with her solo debut in India at the age of eight and has since performed extensively in prestigious venues and festivals throughout the world. She has studied with several legendary stalwarts from India, and is trained and mentored by of India’s iconic dancer/choreographer Malavika Sarukkai. Mythili has toured her own solo productions in the United Kingdom, Scotland, France, and Singapore, the United States and Mexico. She was featured on NBC’s Superstars of Dance as a Bharata Natyam soloist, introducing her art form to all over the world. Mythili also had the honor of working with Director Ang Lee in the award winning film Life of Pi and was cast as the wife of Pi. Nominated by celebrated dancer/choreographer Akram Khan as “choreographer of the future” for UK-based Dance Umbrella’s “Four by four commissions,” Mythili premiered her solo work “HERE and NOW” at their 2019 Festival. Mythili is recipient of numerous accolades from premiere institutions of Dance and Music in India. She is a recipient of the Creation to Performance Grant from the Irvine Dance Foundation and Artistic Innovation Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation. In 2021 she received the National Dance Project Touring Grant from NEFA for She’s Auspicious, which previewed in Hamburg at the “Reflektor Festival” curated by musician Anoushka Shankar. Mythili was also a principal dancer in Akram Khan Company’s “Outwitting the Devil.” Mythili was a principal dancer in Akram Khan Company’s “Outwitting the Devil.” In 2022, she created a trilogy of pieces, beginning with AR | DHA – a commission for the 90th anniversary festival of Jacob’s Pillow, and concluding with ONE | ALL for “Festival in Motion” one of the first of its kind site specific dance festivals in Qatar, surrounding the World Cup 2022.