Born to a family with a very strong cultural and spiritual background, Anjali was initiated to dance by her mother, Mrs. Nalini Rajan who hails from the family of P.P. Madhavan, a known poet in Kerala. Anjali began her formal training in Bharatanatyam at the age of six from the late Smt. Madhuri Kelkar in Thane, Maharashtra.
She continued her lessons with Mrs. Kelkar for the next nine years. Subsequently, she successfully completed Visharad in Bharatanatyam from Bharataiya Sangeet Samitti in Mumbai, India. Her passion for the dance form took her to Shri Ambujakshan’s classes in Mulund, Mumbai for further training. There, she had the good fortune of learning this art from Kalamandalam Ambili. She also took Mohiniattam lessons for a couple of years under the guidance of Kalamandalam Geeta and Nisha in Mumbai.Under their guidance, she has performed at different occasions in and around Maharashtra. She has been acknowledged for her dancing skills at schools and social organizations like the Rotary and lions club.
She also had the opportunity to learn under the guidance of Kalakshetra faculty and dancers like Shijith Nambiar and Kalakshetra Mohan and Jayakamala Pandiyan of Rajarathnalaya Arts foundation through their workshops. She continues her Mohiniattom training from Mrs Aswathy Nair Srikanth
Anjali has been part of actress Padmashri Hema Malini’s dance ballets like Geet Govind, Mahalakshmi, and Savitri to name a few. She toured various parts of India giving performances at prestigious dance festivals in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahemadabad, Pune and Goa. During the stint with Hema Malini, she also danced for a few episodes of the serial “Jai Mata Ki” telecast on the television station Doordarshan.
With an intention of furthering her training in dance, she also learns Carnatic Vocal music from Nalini Anantharaman in Chennai. Apart from dance, she has taken a keen interest in academics and martial arts. Academically, she is a post-graduate in Commerce from the University of Mumbai. As a 1st Dan black belt in the Budokan style of Karate, she has won several state-level championships and medals at the national level.
Anjali has taught Bharatanatyam in schools as a part of their curriculum, and also at her institute “Kalanjali” in Thane. She has organized camps and workshops for children in association with Chinmaya Mission in Mumbai. She moved to USA in 2008, and since has had the opportunity to perform and teach again
She founded OnlineBharatanatyam.com in 2007, sharing information on Bharatanatyam globally as a means to continue her love for the dance. The website steadily became popular, and has helped many people worldwide, reflected in the warm comments from readers and viewers. Upon request from a few readers, she has started providing dance classes online. The website and classes have since been helping more and more people, especially those who do not have access to dance teachers locally. OnlineBharatanatyam has been successfully training number of students around the globe like USA, Australia, UK, Germany etc.
She started the Natyam Academy in 2012 and successfully trains students in the local communities. Natyam has been a Not for profit school that focuses on training and creating awareness about Bharatanatyam and Indian culture through quality training, public performances, workshops and educational presentations. In 2013 Anjali released her first DVD “Natyarambham- Learning Adavus in Bharatanatyam”.
Anjali hopes that as she strives towards greater excellence in dancing, her passion for Bharatanatyam and other forms of art will endow her with courage to break boundaries and widen her horizons in all avenues of life. She acknowledges her sincere thanks to her Gurus for her expert guidance, and her parents who have identified and greatly encouraged her in making her dreams a reality. She greatly appreciates her husband and her extended family without whose cooperation and support, pursuing her passion would have been impossible.