About
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.” 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 a principal dancer in Akram Khan Company’s “Outwitting the Devil.”
She created a trilogy of pieces in 2022, 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.
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
UNITED STATES
Asia Society, Houston
Asia Society, IAAC Festival New York
McCallum Performing Arts Center (educational outreach)
Museum of Instrumental Music, Phoenix
Getty Center, Los Angeles
Joe’s Public Theatre, New York
Symphony Space, World Music Institute, “Dancing The Gods Festival,” New York
Yerba Buena Arts Centre, “Traditions Engaged Festival,” San Francisco
Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., presented by Sivam Arts
World Festival of Music, Chicago
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls
American Folk Festival, Bangor
National Folk Festival, Lowell
National Folk Festival, St. Louis
National Folk Festival, Greensboro
National Folk Festival, Richmond
Montana Folk Festival, Butte
SINGAPORE
“Kalaa Utsavam” – Esplanade Theatres on the Bay
EUROPE
Darbar Festival, Saddlers Wells, London UK
Saddlers Wells, “Svatantrya” in collaboration with Anoushka Shankar, Svapnagata Festival
The Lowry, Manchester, presented by Milapfest
Unity Theatre, Liverpool, presented by Milapfest
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London
Nehru Centre, London
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Musee Guimet, Paris
Mandapa, Paris
INDIA
Rashtrapathi Bhavan (command performance for President Venkataraman), New Delhi
India International Center, New Delhi
Habitat Center, New Delhi
Ravi Shankar Institute of Music and Performing Arts, New Delhi
National Center for Performing Arts, Mumbai
Chembur Fine Arts, Mumbai
Shanmughananda Sabha, Mumbai
Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai
Nalanda Arts Festival, Mumbai
Music Academy Dance Festival, Chennai
Kalakshetra Arts Festival, Chennai
Brahma Gana Sabha, Chennai
Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai
Karthik Fine Arts Sabha, Chennai
Mylapore Fine Arts Society, Chennai
Kinkini Nrityotsav Festival, Bangalore
Bangalore Habba Festival, Bangalore
Rasavikalpam Festival, Palakkad and Calicut
Soorya Parampara Festival, Trivandram
Dharini Festival, Ernakulam
Swaralaya Festival, Palakkad
Darpana Arts Festival, Ahemdabad
Pune Theatre festival, Pune
Devadasi Festival, Bhubaneshwar
MEXICO
“Festival of Dance,” Chihuahua
“Festival of Dance,” Juarez
ACCOLADES
INDIA
Natya Kala Vipanchee – Vipanchee Fine Arts, Chennai
Nadanamaamani – Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai
Chandrasekharan Endowment – Chennai
Devadasi National Award – Devadasi Festival, Bhubaneshwar
Sanskriti Yuva Puraskar – Sanatan Sangeet Sanskriti, Delhi
Vasanthalakshmi & Narasimhachari Endowment – Natyarangam Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai
Yuva Kala Bharati – Bharat Kalachar, Chennai
MGR Best Dancer Award – Music Academy, Chennai
Natana Bhava Padmam – Brahma Gana Sabha
USA
CHIME Mentorship Program – Margaret Jenkins Dance Company
Artistic Innovations Grant – Center for Cultural Innovation
Creation to Performance Grant – James Irvine Foundation
Young Arts Award – Young Arts Foundation
EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
Having accompanied her mother on educational outreach performances starting in the late 80’s through the Performing Tree and Intercultural Awareness Program (ICAP), Mythili is passionate about bringing her art form to schools for students of all ages. She believes “experiencing an art form that does not speak their verbal language but speaks a common language of the heart instantly creates the feeling of connection. In this age that is becoming increasingly more digital and a world where differences have become the excuse for violence, cruelty, and de-humanization, this connection is so important.”