Nataraj Music and Dance Academy, an esteemed organisation was founded by B.R. Vikram Kumar (Bathina Vikram Goud), with a motto to serve the Indian society through culture. A member of International Dance Council in UNESCO, the ISO 9001:2008 Certified Academy has been imparting education to students in various areas viz. Kuchipudi, Indian folk, Indian classical music, and instrumental music. Students are being nurtured with adroit discipline and dedication since the past 15 years incessantly. The Academy devoted itself to perfect and advance artists, and their personal excellence and skills. It teaches, encourages and enables them to excel. It encourages and leads the way for them to contribute significantly to creating and executing an endeavour that is beautiful, meaningful, and enriching to the classical dance community.
The Academy is also known for organizing dance festivals in various Indian classical and folk dance forms involving eminent dancers from all over the world to propagate the Indian ethos. Its aim is to promote and profess unity in diversity of Indian culture through its various workshops, lecture demonstrations and competitions. Educating common man on the richness of classical Indian dance and sensitizing people at large on the essence of Indian art for the past one and a half decade has been the forte of the Academy. The Academy has organized International dance festivals and has successfully invited besides eminent and renowned dancers from across the world, even the top of the line Padma awardees in different classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Manipuri, Odissi, Kathak, Sattriya and the lesser known Chhau.
Every year it conducts national and international festivals:
- Vysaki Nrithyotsav (All India Classical Dance Festival) Estd. 1998
- Bharat Nrithyotsav (International Indian Classical Dance Festival) Estd. 2000
- Nataraj Nrithyotsav (All India Male Dancers Festival) Estd. 2012
- Naatya Tharang Sangeeth Nrithyotsav (All India Classical Dance Monthly Festival) Estd. 2012
- Sathyabhama Yuva Nrithyotsav (All India Classical Dance Festival for Youth) Estd. 2013
- Jathis (Roving Dance Festival) Estd. 2013
- Amaravati Nrithyotsav (Indian Dance Festival) Estd. 2015
The Academy also celebrates important days like the World Dance Day, the World Disabled Day, International Women’s Day and Andhra Pradesh Dance Day. It has been actively involved in various social and philanthropic activities.