Tara Rajkumar has made distinguished contributions to dance in Australia, United Kingdom and India for over four decades. Born in Kerala, India, she has taken the classical Kerala dance forms of Kathakali and Mohinattam and contemporary productions to many parts of the world from village halls to world theatres.
A recipient of several honours and awards, Tara received the prestigious national award of Medal of the Order of Australia on Australia Day 2009 for her service to the performing arts as a teacher, choreographer and dancer.
Tara was included in the Inaugural Victorian Honour Roll of Women Shaping the Nation on the occasion of Australia’s Centenary of Federation (2001) for her contributions to Victoria and the Nation in Arts and Education and she was honoured in the Victorian Parliament, the first Indo-Australian to be honoured in this way.
The Victorian government presented Tara with the Victorian Volunteer Award in 2006 on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Parliament of Victoria in recognition of her and Natya Sudha Dance Company and School’s service to the community.
She is included in the unique reference work, Australian People—an Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and Origins (1996). She is a Trustee of the Federation of Indian Music Dance Victoria.
Published in The Indian Sun / The Indian Sun Person of the Year Nominee 2014
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