Radha Reddy

Radha Reddy is an Indian dancer who was born on 15th February 1955 in Kotalgaon. She is an exponent of Kuchipudi. Radha holds a diploma in choreography. Radha is married to Raja Reddy, a Kuchipudi exponent. Radha’s sister Kausalya is also married to Raja. Raja has a daughter, Yamini, with Radha and a daughter, Bhavana, with Kausalya. Both these girls are Kuchipudi dancers.

As Raja was a dancer, Radha started following him after their marriage. Vedantam Prahalada Sarma of Eluru is their guru. In 1966, they received a scholarship from the Andhra Pradesh government to study choreography and stage arts in Delhi. They received appreciation in 1970 when they performed in Tamilnadu. After the wide appreciation due to their noteworthy performance at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary, PM Indira Gandhi allotted them a house in Delhi.

The couple launched Natya Tarangini, an institute to teach Kuchipudi dance, in Saket, New Delhi, in 1976. Classical dance, yoga, Sanskrit, and music are taught in Natya Tarangini. In 2007, they started Natya Tarangini in Hyderabad, which is run by Yamini. Online and offline classes are offered to residential and non-residential students.

Raja and Radha are the first dancers from India to perform at the International Dance Festival of Avignon in Salzburg in Austria, France, USA, UK, and Bangladesh. In 1984, they received Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan in 2000. The Rotary Club, Delhi, honoured them with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The University of Hyderabad conferred them with a doctorate. They are also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.