Arunima Kumar: From India To The World, The Global Icon Redefining Kuchipudi
She has trained 150+ students through her London-based Arunima Kumar Dance Company.
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In a world constantly chasing the next trend, Arunima Kumar continues to make tradition feel timeless. The award-winning Kuchipudi dancer, choreographer, and global cultural leader is redefining how classical art can be both ancient and alive, both spiritual and social.
Arunima became the first Kuchipudi dancer to be conferred King Charles III’s Honorary British Empire Medal (BEM), for her services to Indian classical dance and community, a historic honour that recognises her contribution to strengthening cultural bridges between India and the UK.
With more than three decades of dance behind her, Arunima has performed across 50+ countries, led over 3,000 shows, and trained 150+ students aged 4 to 75 through her London-based Arunima Kumar Dance Company (AKDC). But beyond the numbers, her journey is a living example of how art can be a force for change from stages of 10 Downing Street to courtyards of Tihar Jail.
Where art meets impact
For Arunima, Kuchipudi is not confined to a stage. Her work has taken the form into UK hospitals, care homes, schools, and prisons, using movement as therapy and expression as freedom.
In one of her most moving projects, she trained women inmates at Tihar Jail, some of whom went on to perform outside prison walls. “When someone who’s forgotten how to hope begins to dance again,” she says, “that’s where real art begins.”
This balance of artistry and activism is what sets her apart. Each step she choreographs holds the rhythm of centuries, yet speaks to the urgencies of today inclusion, equality, and empath
Taking Indian dance to the world
Her list of milestones is breathtaking from performing at 10 Downing Street for UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to presenting Kuchipudi at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Victoria & Albert Museum, and the European Parliament.
In the UK, her Rang Festival has grown into the country’s biggest celebration of Kuchipudi inaugurated by Sudha Murty and attended by Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty making it a fixture on Britain’s cultural calendar.
“When I see young students from London performing Kuchipudi with the same devotion as children in India,” Arunima reflects, “I realise how art truly transcends geography. The world doesn’t need to ‘understand’ classical dance it just needs to feel it.”
Arunima Kumar’s rhythm of change: Taking Kuchipudi beyond the stage
This year, Arunima is leading yet another groundbreaking step the India–UK Kuchipudi Cultural Exchange, supported by the British Council. The initiative will see 15 UK-based students (ages 11–18) perform in India for the first time, alongside their Indian peers at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
“This collaboration is more than a performance, it’s a movement,” she says. “To see British and Indian students share a stage, speak through rhythm, and find unity in tradition is deeply emotional for me.”
The project symbolizes what Arunima’s art has always stood for bridging worlds, not building walls.
The purpose in the performance
Over the years, Arunima’s contributions have been recognised with 50+ awards and honours, including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, the Global Icon Award at the Houses of Parliament, and an invitation to 10 Downing Street by former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. She has trained under the guidance of Padma Bhushan Swapnasundari and Padma Shri Jayarama Rao, grounding her innovation in classical excellence. She has trained under eminent gurus Padmabhushan Smt Swapnasundari, Padmashri Guru Jayarama Rao, and Vanashree Rao, grounding her innovation in classical excellence.
Yet, for all the global acclaim, she remains rooted in a simple philosophy dance is dialogue.
“Dance has the power to move people not just physically, but emotionally and socially. My dream is to make Kuchipudi a living language of change.”
From teaching children their first step to creating pathways for cultural diplomacy, Arunima Kumar is proving that classical art is not static it’s revolutionary. Through every performance, she reimagines what it means to be a dancer in today’s world: part artist, part activist, and entirely unstoppable.
Because for her, Kuchipudi isn’t just a dance form it’s a movement.