Venugopal Josyula began learning Kuchipudi dance from the age of five in his native town of Kuchipudi. Eight years later he began his in-depth study of Bharatanatyam at Kalapeetham Institute and later under the renowned teaching duo, Narasimhachari and Vasanthalakshmi of Chennai, and received a Government of India scholarship for advanced training. As a freelance artist, he traveled and performed with Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant and Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam in their respective Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dance dramas. His recent performances in lead roles in Rathna Kumar’s productions, Ram Leela, Dashavatar, Incredible India, Sacred Spaces & Divine Dances, Forest of Fantasy, Pranamya and Anshuman, have won him rave reviews.
Venugopal is also a singer and was awarded the Sangeeta Rathna Award for Classical Music by the Madras Music Academy in an annual competition held for young and upcoming performers. Venugopal is a performer, choreographer and teacher who has been working for 11 years at the Anjali Center. Currently he is the academy’s Assistant Director and teaches Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Carnatic vocal music.