Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and vocalist Geeta Chandran has been awarded the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi award 2016 for Bharatanatyam.

Geeta Chandran was born on 14th January 1962 at Cochin in Kerala. A trained Carnatic vocalist, Geeta Chandran received her initial training of Bharatanatyam from Smt Swarna Saraswati, and later she got training from Gurus Shri K.N. Dakshinamurthi, Smt Jamuna Krishnan and Smt Kalanidhi Narayanan. She founded the Natya-Vriksha a classical dance academy. She is the president of the academy and also the artistic director of the academy.

Geeta Chandran was awarded the Padma Shri (the fourth highest civilian honour given by the Republic of India) in 2007 for her contribution to Bharatanatyam. She was given the status of “Outstanding Artist” by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in September 2005. She has been honoured with various awards. On 9th December 2010, Geeta Chandran was awarded the Stree Samman award by the South Delhi Youth Congress in New Delhi for her contribution in helping others initiate social change. She received Kalasagar Award for the year 2010. The Kalasagar award was given to Geeta Chandran by the Cultural Organization Kalasagar for Excellence in Bharatanatyam on 28th May 2010, at Kerala Kalamandalam, Thrissur.

National Level Academy for performing arts i.e. Sangeet Natak Akademi was set up by the Government of India on 31st May 1952. Also known as The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama in English, the headquarters of Sangeet Natak Akademi is at Rabindra Bhawan, Ferozshah Road, New Delhi, India. The Ministry of Culture of the Government of India is the parent organization of this academy. The academy was established by the Indian education ministry appointing Dr P.V. Rajamannar as the first chairman of the academy. Sangeet Natak Akademi abbreviated as SNA serves only in India with an aim to preserve and promote the vast cultural heritage of India through dance, drama and music.