Hyderabad-based Kuchipudi dancer Amy Kumar is holding an online conversation series titled ‘Women of Substance’, bringing together women from various fields. The series, which began on September 12, will run through the month (every Saturday and Sunday) on her Instagram handle (amykumar57).
“The series is an event to bring to light inspiring stories of 14 women of substance who have achieved success by passionately doing what they do,” says Amy and adds, “We have a photographer, musician, postdoc in cancer biology, corporate leader — people from various fields I'm associated with.”
The first episode of ‘Women of Substance’ featured the US-based teacher and social media influencer Eliza Keyton, also known as ‘Eli Kutty’ because of her love for the Malayalam language. This was followed by Anita Peter, Mohiniyattam dancer, founder of Lasya Drutha. Other guests in the series include women from the field of dance, music, science, research and corporate world.
The series was initiated in 2005 by Amy’s parents, a reason why she says, it’s close to her heart, “My parents started the organisation ‘Prerana Pratibha’ in 2005 noticing my interest towards Indian classical dance and music. The intent is also to promote and encourage young talent. I started teaching at the age of 17 and there has been no turning back since then.”
While dance is her passion, Amy has always been a student of science. She did her Bachelors in Microbiology, Biochemistry and Chemistry from St. Francis Degree College for women followed by a Masters in Biomedical Genetics from VIT Vellore. She then worked as a Project Junior Research Fellow at CCMB Hyderabad before moving to Dr Reddy's Laboratories where she worked as a scientist. She's currently working as a Deputy Manager at GVK BIO.
“I have always been fascinated by the world of science, thanks to my mother — a postdoc in Botany — and my dad an engineer who bought me a microscope at the age of eight and always taught me the practical aspects of things. Dance was for my soul, while science was for my mind, for the longest time.
In the coming weeks, ‘Women of Substance’ will feature Pujita Krishna - Kuchipudi and Vilasini Natyam dancer, Founder of Feet on Earth, writer, teacher, Nenita Praveen, a performing artiste and founder of Meenakshi arts studio and yoga teacher; Shriia a vocalist, music producer; Nayantara Nanda Kumar - Odissi dancer, environmentalist, founder of Our Sacred Space; Sandhya Kumaraswamy, associate director at Dr Reddy’s Laboratories; Abhimanika Yadav, winner of Mrs Universe 2017 and Mrs Asia Pacific Universe 2016, Abhinandana Kodanda, a Kuchipudi practitioner and artistic director of Abhinandana Dance Academy; Kalpana Behara, technology professional (Google, Facebook) and Global head - Uber (digital marketing); Ashritha Vemuganti Nanduri , classical dancer, TV host and actor; Anupama Kylash, senior practitioner of Kuchipudi and Vilasini Natyam; Shweta Chanda, founder Plums & Bumps Photography and Harsha Maheshwari, artist and director or Happy Hours Dance Place.
