Smt. Sheela Unnikrishnan had her training in Bharatanatyam under the late guru Sundaram of Perambur, disciple of Mangudi Dorairaj Iyer, a famous exponent of the Melattur style of Bharaha Natyam. ​
 

She has also undergone intensive training in Kuchipudi style of dance under the tutelage of the world famous Kuchipudi maestro Dr. Vempati Chinna Sathyam for over seven years and was the recipient of Government of India's scholarship.​

She is a graded Artiste of Doordarshan. “Kala Praveena”, “Padma Bharathi”, “Natya Kalai Chudar”, "Natya Sironmani", "Best guru of the year 2005" are some of the titles which she has been awarded. She was featured in Jaya TV as a judge for a popular programme “ThaKa Dimi Tha”. ​

Her ambition is to re-discover the ancient art of Natya set forth in the Natya Shastra.

A distinctive feature of SriDevi Nrithyalaya is the dance item called Tharanga Nritham. It is the fusion of  Perani Natyam (dance on an upturned clay pot) and Suddha Nritham (dancing on the beats of percussion instruments).