Bhaskar's Academy (NAS & BAA)

Bhaskar’s Arts Academy is a classical Indian performing arts company with a history of teaching and performing since the 1950s. Krishna Pillay Bhaskar (1925-2013), also known as K P Bhaskar, a choreographer and dancer, founded the Bhaskar’s Academy of Dance in India in the 1940s. However, he moved to Singapore in 1952.  He conducted his first dance classes in Singapore as a short course for approximately 40 students in 1952. His progress made it possible for the first full-length production, Shakunthala, to be staged in 1954 at the Victoria Theatre. 

In 1955, he married Pankyamma Santhamma (1939 – 2022), later known as Santha Bhaskar. In the following years, the Bhaskars expanded the Academy’s teaching and performance both in Singapore and Malaya. Bhaskar's Academy of Dance was later renamed the Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society (NAS) in 1988. After a decade, in 1999, a professional performing arts company was established as Bhaskar’s Arts Academy (BAA). NAS became the dedicated teaching arm of BAA, offering classes in various forms of classical Indian dance, music, theatre and yoga.

From NAS, dancers with high potential are selected to join BAA’s Core Dancers’ Programme. This programme enables young talents to enrich their skills with intensive and well-rounded training. Similarly, promising music students are given opportunities for training and can become part of the Academy’s Swathi Orchestra. The society’s students are also given platforms to perform at the institution’s events as well as external cultural and temple festivals. By 2025, NAS had more than 800 students and had conducted more than 120 dance and music Arangetrams (debut graduation presentations, a traditional part of classical Indian dance training). BAA, along with its teaching wing, NAS, continues its mission to create, produce, present, and promote traditional Indian arts. Its body of work reflects the Bhaskars’ legacy, as well as the multicultural Singaporean spirit, while being rooted in its philosophy, “No one shall be deprived of the Arts.” The Academy offers three to four seasons annually, contributing to the vibrant arts scene in Singapore.

BAA believes in bridging cultures through the arts and hence blends Chinese and Malay influences with traditional sources. Its notable intercultural productions include Butterfly Lovers and Singai Sathir. The Academy also undertook cultural collaborations with other countries such as Thailand (in Manohra), Cambodia (in Brihanalla) and Indonesia (in Vinayaka). In addition, the Academy has performed extensively overseas in Southeast Asia, China, India, Japan, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.  All these dance dramas incorporated elements of local traditions. BAA is one of the few arts companies outside India to regularly stage Kathakali, a traditional dance drama from Kerala, and Therukoothu, street theatre from Tamil Nadu,  as part of its mission to preserve traditional art forms. 

For their contribution to the arts in Singapore, the founders of BAA have been awarded many accolades. Notably, the Meritorious Service Medal was presented to K P Bhaskar in 1962 and Santha Bhaskar in 2021. Santha Bhaskar was also awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1990 and inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame in 2021. In 2021, BAA received the Steward of Intangible Cultural Heritage award from the National Heritage Board.

Since the passing of the Bhaskars, their daughter Meenakshy Bhaskar has taken charge of BAA. 



For more information
Bhaskar’s Arts Academy. Accessed 1 August 2025. https://www.bhaskarsartsacademy.com
Wong, Chee Meng, and N. Nedumaran. A Quest for Dance: The Life and Times of Singapore Dance Pioneer K.P. Bhaskar. Singapore: Select Publishing, 2015. (Call no. RSING English 793.3192 BHA)

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.