Jayachandran Palazhy is a choreographer and artistic director for Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore, India. He has directed all Attakkalari projects to date, including ‘ATTAKKALARI BANGALORE BIENNIAL’ - an international festival of dance and digital arts, ‘FACETS’ – an international biennial trans disciplinary choreography laboratory. He is currently directing ‘NAGARIKA’ - a research project to document the principles of movement in Indian physical traditions. He is also the artistic director of Imlata Dance Company, London, and has choreographed its entire oeuvre to date. Jayachandran Palazhy is an associate artist with Essex Dance with their new technology initiative and has worked as a choreographer, performer and teacher in many parts of the world.
Born in 1959 in Kerala, Jayachandran Palazhy is a physics graduate and trained extensively in different forms of dance. He received three years of training (1979 to 1982) in Bharatanatyam from Kalamandalam Kshemavathy, five years (1982 to 1987) advanced training with ‘the Dhananjayans’ in Chennai, and studied Kathakali (part time) at Kalakshetra from 1985 to 1987. He also received lessons in Kalari martial arts and folk dances from different parts of India, Contemporary Dance, Ballet and TaiChi and choreography at London Contemporary Dance School from 1987 to 1989 and learnt Capoeira from London School of Capoeira and African dance with different masters.