History
Akademi has been working for over 40 years at the heart of South Asian dance in the UK. We’ve had an amazing journey coming to where we are today.
Akademi was founded by Tara Rajkumar OAM in 1979 as Academy of Indian Dance. Under the leadership of a succession of dynamic directors – Tara Rajkumar OAM, Bharati Kansara, John Chapman, Pushkala Gopal, Naseem Khan OBE and Mira Kaushik OBE – Akademi flourished. We are now a leading producer of South Asian dance in the UK.
In January 2020, Subathra Subramaniam was appointed as Artistic Director and Kirsten Burrows as Executive Director; and both as Joint‑CEOs.
Explore our journey through images from the archive.