The director of the Sri Ganesalaya school of dance in Kuala Lumpur, Sri Ganesan, as he was popularly known, was in the state capital of Bhubaneswar to take part in the three-day Devadasi dance festival.

The 63-year-old collapsed while lighting a lamp just before his dance performance and later died in hospital, Indian media reported today. He had been due to collect an award from a local cultural group.

A doctor at Capital Hospital said his death “could be due to sudden cardiac arrest”, reports added.

Under Sri Ganesalaya, which he founded in 1987, Ganesan trained thousands of artistes in Indian classical dance and produced hundreds of shows, including in India, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar and Indonesia.

A tribute to Ganesan on Facebook said he had initially wanted to study medicine in India but instead pursued dance, “specifically the Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam”.

“He would emerge, years later, one of the finest artistes of this art form. A recipient of numerous international awards, a gold medallist of the All-India dance competition, an A-grade dancer of Doordharshan – he worked tirelessly for the cause of dance,” the post read.

Ganesan previously served as president of the Malaysia Bharatanatyam Dance Association.