"The characteristics that make the Madras-trained Raman an extraordinary performer.......are precisely those that mark an extraordinary ballerina. She places each gesture, every movement with precision. Through it all, Raman displays warmth, ease and pleasure...." - Cerinda Survant, The Oregonian.

"Raman ignites the form with a singular focus, making the dance as riveting today as it was 2,000 years back in the day..." Willamette Week

Dr. Jayanthi Raman, Dancer Choreographer, artistic director, and teacher has a critically acclaimed and an extensive and impressive career spanning three decades. Her dance and choreography, based in ancient Indian traditions, has been lauded for its deep-rooted classicism as well as for its aesthetic experimentation and willingness to cross boundaries. The work she creates is highly refined, yet approachable, appealing to a wide range of audiences.

Raman’s willingness to take risks and explore unpredictable and complex movements has established her as an exciting and groundbreaking choreographer in the Northwest and the United States. Raman has created a unique language that expresses her personal Indo-American identity. Using the Indian classical dance form Bharatha Natyam as the starting point for her exploration, she creates thought provoking work which challenges narrow views of cultural boundaries. Raman has won several awards locally, regionally, and nationally recognizing her as one of the foremost dancer/ teacher and choreographer in the US.

Raman has become a recognized persona in the US, called as a "cultural treasure" by art critic Phil Hunt and as a "world class dancer" and "scholar of dances" by dance critic Martha Ullmann West (DANCE Magazine). She has also been acclaimed as a dancer and choreographer of repute by the national press such as the Washington Post, Nebraska Times, Dayton Daily News, Atlanta Journal, Houston Chronicle, Hindustan Times etc.. She is reputed as a scholar by the critics and her peers. A versatile performer, director, chorographer, teacher and scholar she has her own training institute of Bharatha Natyam dance -Natya, based in Portland, USA along with its performing unit and dance company, the Jayanthi Raman DANCE company. She has performed and toured all over India and North America performing in many prestigious venues and dance festivals both individually and with her students, receiving raving reviews from the press and the public.

Celebrating the 15th year of her dance school based in Portland, Raman has been supporting the goal of educating the younger generation in this ancient art form. As a recognized dancer/choreographer Raman has the unique ability of providing performing opportunities for students of her dance school in performing art centers in the US.

Education/Training:
Raman has trained under guidance of renowned Gurus Padmasri Adyar K Lakshman and Guru J. Venkatachalapathy of Kalakshetra. She has also studied classical music and nattuvangam (conducting the orchestra) as well as other classical and folk dances.
She is proficient in three East Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil and Sanskrit) which facilitate her research in ancient and contemporary literature to choreograph for her productions. She has done research of folklore, mythology, religion, history and origin of dance in India, musical heritage, arts theory and literature. She has MD in Medicine and Masters Degree in Computer Informatics.

Choreography:
She has choreographed and presented ten productions over past years collaborating with leading musicians and dancers from US and India of various genres. She is the first dancer in her genre to have received the prestigious National Dance Project award for her ballet production that toured 26 cities in US in fall 2004. Her choreography is well known for both her deep rooted classicism and her aesthetic sense of crossing boundaries to create new and graceful productions appealing to everyone in the audience.

Her work has been compared to legendary choreographer Mark Morris and her recent ballet compared to ‘Giselle’. Raman’s work received critical acclaim from the press and public for her innovative choreography, music, her design of the costumes, lighting, the seamless storyline and background research etc.
In India, Raman has choreographed ballets and solo dances for prestigious theaters and for charitable causes.

As an upcoming artist, she was specially commissioned in 1980 by Government to choreograph and present a dance ballet about the life of Mahatma Gandhi, praised by Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Touring:
Raman’s ballets have toured locally, regionally and nationally. Her tenth dance ballet- Gajamukha, toured 26 cities in the US, the largest tour supported by the NDP to date. The ballet received full house audiences in most cities and appreciative responses. In the Northwest, Raman’s Gajamukha was presented by RASIKA in Portland and at Corvallis. The Portland show was co-promoted by PICA, featured in the PICA TBA Festival 2004. In Spokane, the Mayor declared the week as ‘India Week’ to celebrate and promote diversity and honor the presentation of the ballet at Spokane MET Theater. At Seattle, Raman was the first East Indian artist to be featured in the UW World series. Rialto performing art center at Atlanta collaborated with the Atlanta Gandhi Foundation to present the show, which received critical acclaim and coverage in national East Indian newspapers and the Atlanta Journal.

Washington Performing Art Society at Washington DC featured Sitar Maestro Pandit Ravishankar and Raman’s ballet as the featured events of their season. World Music Institute presented Raman’s ballet at the prestigious Symphony Space in New York. Flynn performing art center at Vermont presented her ballet as featured event with admirable audiences. Her ballet raised over $10,000 for Hindu Temple in NE Florida on this tour. Dayton Daily claimed her ballet to be the ‘best show of the season’! From coast to coast, Raman’s ballet was applauded and admired for its classical yet innovative appeal.

Performing Artist:
As a performer, she is well known for her precise footwork and her eloquent abhinaya -expressive dance. She has performed over 500 solo and thematic group performances at reputed dance festivals and performing art centers in India and in US. She has won rave reviews from critics and public alike for her concert performances and innovative choreography.
Her local and regional shows include performances at the Culture Shock Festival, Newport as the featured troupe; Art Beat at Portland Community College, ArtQuake Festival Portland, PSU PIP Fest, Northwest Folklife Festival at Seattle etc. Other performances include charitable and community events which features both Raman and the talented dancers trained by her at her dance school.

Educator:
Raman is the founder and artistic Director of the NATYA Dance Academy, founded in 1993 based in Portland, Oregon. She celebrated the 15th year anniversary of her dance school in 2008 with a grand dance ballet featuring her students at the Portland Center for Performing Arts, to a full house and appreciative audience. She teaches adults and children of all ages and backgrounds not only the art of dance but also the culture and traditions of India. She has presented the dance graduation or Arangetram of her students in Portland, receiving glowing tributes from the community as a teacher. She has worked at local schools through the AIE Roster and Young Audiences. She continues to work at schools among her busy schedule taking time to give back to the community. She has taught workshops at Reed College, and at Portland State University, Portland Community college locally.

On her recent tour of the US, Raman was the consummate cultural ambassador receiving standing ovations from audiences for her talks, lectures and classes on Indian dance, music, culture, traditions and heritage with her vast knowledge covering diverse topics and her ability as an inspiring orator. Raman was asked to talk about diverse topics at the various Universities, colleges and for general audiences (from Portland, Vermont, Atlanta, New York, Florida, Spokane, Seattle, Corvallis etc!). Her lecture on the history of Indian dance along with Guru Adyar Lakshman, was supported by grant from the Oregon Council for Humanities in September 2004.
She has written articles for the Dance Happenings magazine and for Indian Cultural Association newsletter.