User:Natyacharya Mithun Shyam

Mithun Shyam (born 11 June 1982 is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer who has preformed in many reputed productions by senior choreographers and dance directors, as well as his own solo productions. He is noted for his contributions to social and gender based themes through classical dance. His achievements consists of an 'A' grade certification from Doordarshan and empanelment by Indian Council for Cultural Relations apart from several awards by various cultural institutions. He is well known as one of the rare few performing male dancers of the Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam.

Early life and background
Mithun is the second son of Smt V K Sarala, a retired typist with the Agricultural Department, Govt of Karnataka and Shri C Vishnu Mohan, the General Manager of Impact Safety Glass Works. He was born at the Cox Town Maternity Center, Bangalore East. He has two siblings, Vipin Shyam (elder brother) and Shraddha Shiva Prakash (younger sister). He did his schooling at the Seventh Day Adventist High School, Cathedral College and Sheshadripuram college. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Commerce. While he was just sixteen, his Guru instructed him to start teaching and hence set up Vaishnavi Natyashala in 1998. Though he joined for the Chartered Accountancy course, dance started taking an important position and due to hectic schedules including a four month tour of the United States of America along with his Guru during 2004, he had to abandon his CA course. In order to financially support his performing career, Mithun took up a night job at a call center and continued to practice, perform and teach during the day time.

The Trio Era
Mithun joined dance classes at Natyapriya under the guidance of Guru Padmini Ramachandran along with his elder brother and younger sister. They were trained as a trio and went on to perform on several stages. The popular dance "Parkadal Alaimele" depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu was one of their most popular dances and was presented at many prestigious events and festivals. They performed their Arangetram as a trio at Guru Nanak Bhavan on 15 July 2000 and continued to perform at well-known festivals like Ankura, Every Friday Cultural Programme etc.. Once his sister and brother got married in the years 2006 and 2008 respectively, Mithun began to train and practice as a soloist.

Vaishnavi Natyashala
When he was just 16, Mithun founded Vaishnavi Natyashala, an institute to propagate classical dance and music at the behest of his Guru Padmini, in order to raise funds for his Rangapravesham. What began as a small school with just a handful of children boomed into a school that trained over 2000 students so far and currently trains over 500 students at a 7000 sq ft facility in the heart of East Bangalore. Vaishnavi Natyashala has produced many solo dancers, critically acclaimed dance productions, an international magazine - "Nrithyam" and an interactive exchange program - "Milana" in order to popularize and encourage classical dance and music. Many of the students are award winning performers and have been recognized by the state and central government with awards and scholarships for their dedicated and sincere efforts.