About the Guru
Guru Archana Patwardhan
Gold-medalist dancer, choreographer and teacher — carrying classical Kathak forward in Pune for 32 years.
The dancer
Three decades of Kathak, taught one student at a time.
Archana began Kathak at the age of nine, first under Guru Mulla and then under Pt. Maneesha Sathe, the renowned Kathak maestro of Pune, with vocal training from Guru Manasi Khandekar. She took her Kathak Nritya Visharad in 1995 and a Masters in Performing Arts (Kathak) from the University of Pune in 1996. In 1994 she founded her own institute in the city — Archana Nrityalaya Pune — and has taught there ever since.
More than 1000 students have passed through the Nrityalaya, from first-year beginners to Visharad and Alankar. They are not only children: doctors, engineers, MBA students and IT professionals have all begun Kathak here as adults, and gone on to perform at the academy's annual gathering. Alongside the Sinhagad Road classes she has run workshops in Lonand and Karjat to carry Kathak into rural Maharashtra, given advanced training to young dancers in Solapur and Kolhapur, and taught over video call — one such student completed her Nrityavisharad entirely online.
Her own choreography runs from the strictly classical — Panchayatan, Saptarang, Chatarang, Taalankit, Amrut Manthan — to work no one expected Kathak to hold: a ballet on the evolution of the Earth, robotics staged for ROBOCON, and Gondhal set against breakdance to the percussion of Ustad Taufiq Qureshi. Since 2004 she has also run ANVPP, the registered medical trust that turns the academy's annual show into treatment for heart, kidney and cancer patients.
Training, credentials and productions
The parampara
- Guru Mulla First training
- Pt. Maneesha Sathe Advanced training
- Guru Manasi Khandekar Vocal training
- Archana Patwardhan Teaching in Pune since 1994
Credentials
- Masters in Performing Arts (Kathak), University of Pune — 1996
- Kathak Nritya Visharad — 1995
- B.Com, University of Pune — 1991
- Founder & director, Archana Nrityalaya Pune
- Founder & president, ANVPP medical trust
- 1000+ students taught, from beginners to Visharad and Alankar
Signature productions
- Pruthvi 2002 A Kathak ballet on the evolution of Earth
- ROBOCON 2005 & 2006 Robotics and engineering, expressed through Kathak
- Dashawatar 2006 & 2024 The ten avatars of Vishnu — first staged 2006, restaged 2024
- Gondhal meets Breakdance 2006 & 2008 Fusion to music by Ustad Taufiq Qureshi
- Panchakanya 2010 Five legendary women
- Jala Tarang 2011
- Drum Fusion 2013
- Meghdoot 2015 Kalidasa's classic as a dance drama
- Aao Balma 2016
- Bhupali to Bhairavi 2017
- Shilpanubhuti 2017
- Lakha Lakha Chanderi 2020 A Diwali presentation, lit end to end by lamps
- Jayostute 2021 Savarkar's ode to the motherland
- Ganesh Taal 2022
- Dnyaneshwari 2023 Sant Dnyaneshwar's commentary on the Gita, as Kathak
- Navras 2025 The nine rasas, drawn one at a time in abhinaya
- Shree Hari Stotram 2026 Jagadjalapalam, set to Kathak
Awards & laurels
Honoured on stage, and for the work off it.
- 2026 “Aajchi Savitri” Lokmat & Star Pravah
- 2026 “Kalagami Puraskar” Ishavasya Gurukulam
- 2026 “Kinkini Yog Sanman” Ishavasya Gurukulam
- 2025 30 hours of nonstop ghungroonaad Wonder Book of Records
- 2017 Title of Nrityabhushan For outstanding contribution to dance
- 2015 “Gaurav Punyacha” Zee Marathi
- 2010 Gold medal — classical solo Kathak International Dance Competition, Bangkok
- 2006 Gold medal — solo Kathak ABSS Pune, Dehradun
On tour
Where the dance has travelled.
Across India
- Bijapur2005
- Odisha2005
- Solapur2007
- Akola2008
- Nagar2008
- Ranjangaon2008
- Khadakwasla2008
- Mount Abu2009
- Alibaug2009
- Sanaswadi2009
- Narayangaon2010
- Sangli2010
- Talegaon2011
- Khadki2012
- Jalgaon2013
- Satara2014
- Delhi2014
- Goa2015
- Delhi2016
- Hyderabad2017
- Jaipur2022
- Ujjain2026
And beyond it
- Japan2002
- Thailand2010
- Singapore2012
The journey
Milestones
- Early years
Trained under revered gurus
Began Kathak at nine under Guru Mulla, then trained under Pt. Maneesha Sathe, with vocal training from Guru Manasi Khandekar.
- 1991–1996
B.Com, Visharad, then a Masters in Kathak
A B.Com from the University of Pune in 1991, Kathak Nritya Visharad in 1995, and a Masters in Performing Arts (Kathak) from the University of Pune in 1996.
- 1994
Archana Nrityalaya founded in Pune
Opened her own institute, teaching Kathak from the first tatkar to the advanced stage.
- 2002
Pruthvi — a Kathak ballet on the evolution of Earth
The first of the full-length productions, followed by ROBOCON choreographies in 2005 and 2006 that set robotics and engineering to Kathak.
- 2004
ANVPP medical trust registered
Founded ANVPP (Reg. no. 4113) to fund treatment for heart, kidney and cancer patients.
- 2010
Gold at Bangkok
Gold medal for classical solo Kathak at the International Dance Competition, Bangkok — after performances in Japan (2002) and ahead of Singapore (2012).
- 2015
“Gaurav Punyacha” award from Zee Marathi
Honoured for combining classical dance with medical charity.
- 2017
Titled Nrityabhushan
Conferred for outstanding contribution to dance, the same year as the productions Bhupali to Bhairavi and Shilpanubhuti.
- 2019
Silver Jubilee — 25 years
One evening at the annual gathering funded dialysis for ten patients through ANVPP.
- 2025
Thirty hours of nonstop ghungroonaad
An entry in the Wonder Book of Records for thirty unbroken hours of ghungroonaad.
- 2026
“Aajchi Savitri”, and two more
Honoured as “Aajchi Savitri” by Lokmat and Star Pravah, with the “Kalagami Puraskar” and “Kinkini Yog Sanman” from Ishavasya Gurukulam.
- Today
1000+ students, and counting
Students span schoolchildren to doctors, from beginners to Visharad and Alankar, taught in Pune and online.
Learn Kathak from Guru Archana
Classes run for children, teens and adults — in person on Sinhagad Road, Pune, and online for learners further afield.