Passionate to dance, Poornima became a Bharatanatyam dancer. She is managing both her home and work and working hard to keep this culture alive.

Poornima Ashok is a Bharatanatyam dancer and performer. She has been running her dance academy in the name of Nrithyanjali in Bangalore.

Poornima was born in Mysore but brought up in Raipur, Madhya Pradesh as her parents had jobs in Raipur. She was inspired to dance by watching films and used to copy Helen’s dance at home. Sometimes her mother used to guide her about the different steps of dancing.

Talking about her entry into the dance field in a professional way, Poornima says that after shifting to Bangalore, her mother searched for dance classes for her and sent her regularly for dance training under the guidance of Smt. Radha Sridhar. She received a scholarship from the Central Government and was sent to Chennai to take advanced training from PadmaVibhushan Dhananjayans where she took training for six years and became perfect in her art.

Sharing about the struggles in her life, Poornima says that she used to get up at 4 a.m. in the morning and her classes used to begin at 5 a.m. For the whole day, she used to have dance classes and watched dance shows by prominent dancers for her learning and observation. She learned discipline and the value of time under the guidance of her gurus.

Continuing to share about her journey in dance, Poornima says that after her training she came back to Bangalore and started her dance academy. She feels happy when her gurus come to see her performance and by the appreciation she gets from her audience. She feels admired when her students from age six to twenty-five learn to dance from her and become great dancers.

When asked about role models in her life, Poornima says that she considers her parents as her prime role models. She also considers her Guru Shri Dhananjayans who taught her all the skills and made her perfect and independent in her life as her inspirations.

In her free time, she likes housekeeping and cooking.

To the aspirants in the field of dance, Poornima suggests considering dance as a profession like other professions only then they would survive in this field. Also, they should put their heart and soul into it and obey their gurus.

To everyone, Poornima advises that they should not change their aim in life frequently. Else, they will never be able to achieve their goals.