Swati Dance Company (SDC) is led by Dr Swati Raut, an established Bharatanatyam dance artist, choreographer, teacher and educator who has worked in the Northwest region for the last two decades. Her highly successful dance career began in the UK in 1987. Since then, Swati has not only established herself as a leading classical dance artist but has concurrently focused attention in training and developing the next generation as a teacher and workshop leader across education and in community contexts.

Swati received her dance training in Bharatanatyam (Pandanallur Style) at ‘Nrityashree’, Mumbai, under the tutelage of Guru Krishnan Kutty. Her Guru is not only a well known Kathakali dancer but also a much admired Bharatanatyam teacher who trained under the late Lakshmi Kantham of Tanjore of the Pichhaiya Pillai school.Following her Arangetram (dance graduation) in 1979, she continued to train in Bharatanatyam and also learnt Mohiniattam (another form of Indian classical dance) from Smt. Ammu Kutty. She has performed extensively in India in the eighties, both as a solo artist and in Dance Drama productions by Nrityashree. Swati came to the UK in 1987 to complete her Ph.D in Organic Chemistry from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. However, her interest was rooted in dance and she started to teach dance to community groups in the Northwest where she was based. In 2005 Swati founded Northwest Dance Alliance with few other regional dance teachers of Indian classical dance. The group now exists informally.

Swati teaches Bharatanatyam to more than150 young children in the North West region through weekly and weekend classes in Wigan, Bolton, Preston and Liverpool. Swati is the Principal Teacher at Milapfest Arts School. Over the last two decades Swati has trained several young children in the region and many of her students have successfully passed various grades of the ISTD examinations and have completed Arangetram (dance graduation) under her guidance and mentoring.

As a performing artist, Swati has performed in successful dance productions such as “Devi Diva” and ‘Shivoham’. Swati is invited to perform regularly in prestigious venues such as the Nehru Centre in London, the Lowry in Salford Quays, Unity Theatre in Liverpool, Heron Theatre in Cumbria. Swati has worked closely as a freelance artist with the leading dance organisations such as SAA-UK, Milapfest, Surdhawani, Indian Association Manchester, Indian Association Lancaster.

Presently she sits in the board of Dance Manchester (previously known as DIGM  – Dance Initiative Greater Manchester) and is a Faculty Committee Members of the ISTD (Imperial Society of Teacher’s in Training) for Classical Indian Dance.