Leela Samson is widely acclaimed as a leading soloist of the Bharatanatyam style of dance. She has toured extensively as a performer in India and abroad. She has set up the Bharatanatyam Department at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, and privately, under the ‘guru-shishya parampara', trained many acclaimed younger Indian and foreign dancers. For 30 years, she has held the stage as a dancer, teacher, writer, and choreographer. She is the recipient of the Sanskriti Award (1982), the Padmashri Award (1990), the Nritya Choodamani Award (1997), and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2000). She is the author of ‘Rhythm in Joy ‘(Roli), a book on the major classical dance forms of India ; and a book for children, ‘The Joy of Classical Dances of India' (NBT). She is currently, the director of Kalakshetra in Chennai.

The earth doesn't belong to us,

We belong to the earth.

—Fabri Veronique, 1993