Meet Indira
Guru Indira Sreeram Leela
Founder & Artistic Director
Indira Sreeram Leela started learning traditional dance very young — a Bharatanatyam arangetram at age nine, under Guru Mythili Kumar. Then came Kuchipudi: over fifteen years of training at the Kuchipudi Art Academy in Chennai, under Kalaprapoorna Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam — the guru who codified and globalized the form as the world knows it today.
As a cultural ambassador for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), she performed on government-sponsored tours across the former Soviet Union, Europe, Canada, and the United States. She has collaborated with some of Kuchipudi’s most celebrated names — Padmasri Shobha Naidu, Sri Radha Raja Reddys, Smt. Manju Bhargavi, and others whose names are themselves a lineage.
She holds an MBA and a Diploma in Yoga and Naturopathy from Chennai University, and has spent 25 years in the IT industry — alongside teaching, never instead of it. In her own words: “Being a Guru is a journey in itself. It’s not just about teaching steps; it’s about transforming a student, instilling discipline, and sharing the depth of our cultural heritage.”
Twenty-five years ago, she brought that lineage to New Jersey. The school has grown almost entirely by word of mouth ever since — families telling other families. In 2018, the New Jersey Senate & General Assembly recognized her with a citation for excellence in teaching. In 2019, she received the Women Empowerment Award — one thread in a long record of community work, told on the Legacy & Recognition page under Women for a Cause.
She still says: “The teacher-student relationship is sacred. It requires patience and dedication from both sides. I have learned so much from my students while teaching them.”
A note on what dance teaches
“Dance is, in many ways, a way to handle life itself. It teaches you to be balanced and graceful even when things are difficult.” Guru Indira Sreeram Leela — in her words, from her interviews
