Alarmel Valli is a leading Indian classical dancer and choreographer and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style in the Indian classical dance form,

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

. She is widely acclaimed for her ability to turn traditional grammar into deeply internalized, personal dance poetry. She founded The Dipasikha Dance Foundation in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in 1984, where she teaches

. In 1991, Alarmel Valli was the second youngest dancer to be conferred the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

from the Government of India, after

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...

. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001 by India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, followed by one of India's highest civilian honours – the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

award from the Government of India in 2004 and Chevalier of Arts and Letters award from the Government of France, also in 2004.

Early life

Alarmel Valli was born and brought up in

, where she did her schooling at The Sacred Heart Matriculation School, Church Park, Chennai. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Stella Maris College, Chennai. She trained in the Pandanallur style of Bharatanatyam from the age of six under renowned Gurus Pandanallur Chokkalingam Pillai and his son Pandanallur Subbaraya Pillai. She studied music under T. Muktha of the

Veena Dhanammal Veenai Dhanammal ( ta, வீணை தனம்மாள்) (1867–1938) was a highly accomplished Carnatic musician, and the torchbearer of the school of Carnatic music that goes by her name. She was both a vocalist and a performer on the S ...

style of music for many years, with a focus on Padams and Javalis. She also trained in

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Kelucharan Mohapatra Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century. He is ...

and his disciple Guru Ramani Ranjan JenaAlarmel Valli Biography
keralawomen.gov.in; accessed 13 May 2017.

Career

She made her stage debut at 9 ½ at The Indian Institute of Fine Arts, Madras, and was conferred the Natya Kala Bhushan award. She won her laurels on the international scene when she was barely 16 at the International Dance Festival of the prestigious Sarah Bernhardt

Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Incl ...

in Paris and has performed in landmark theatres and festivals ever since, both in India and aboard. Her research in classical

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

and the anthologies of the 2000-year-old Sangam poetry has resulted in a significant repertoire of dance poems. Over the years, she has evolved her distinct style within the framework of classical Bharatanatyam. Among her leading students are Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy of the Ragamala Dance Company in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and

Meenakshi Srinivasan Meenakshi Srinivasan (born 11 June 1971) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, and an exponent of the Pandanallur style of Bharatnatyam. She trained under Alarmel Valli and is considered among the most promising soloists of the yo ...

. Some highlights of Alarmél Valli's international career include her performances at the Bolshoi Theatre, The Vienna International Dance Festival, The Munich Opera Festival,

The Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

, The New York International Festival of Arts, The Avignon Festival, The Cervantino Festival, the Lyon Biennale, The

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

The Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, The Helsinki Biennale, The Millennium Festival in Berlin and The Frankfurt Alt Oper. In July 2015, she was the first Indian classical dancer to perform at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

In popular culture

A film on Alarmel Valli was made for the Omnibus series, on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, by producer Michael Macintyre. Alarmel Valli has also been featured in dance documentaries by noted Indian producers like the late

G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmma ...

and

Prakash Jha Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as “Hip Hip Hurray” (1984), '' Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand'' (1997), ''Gangaaj ...

, by the BBC (in The Spirit of Asia Series), the Netherlands Broadcasting Company, Arte (France), and Japanese National Television. The

Films Division of India The Films Division of India (FDI), commonly referred as Films Division, was established in 1948 following the independence of India. It was the first state film production and distribution unit, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcastin ...

commissioned a film, titled 'Pravahi', on her for the National Archives of India. It was directed by eminent filmmaker Arun Khopkar, with cinematography by

Madhu Ambat Madhu Ambat is an Indian cinematographer. With a career spanning over 40 years, he is one of the most prolific cinematographers in Indian cinema. He is best known for his work in films such as ''Amaram'', '' Anjali'', and '' Makaramanju''. He c ...

. In 2011,
Lasya Kavya
', a documentary about Alarmel Valli by award-winning director, Sankalp Meshram, won the

National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film The National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several aw ...

Personal life

Alarmel Valli is married to Bhaskar Ghose, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.

Selected awards and honours

* 1979: State award of ''

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

'' from

Tamil Nadu Government Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

* 1980: Nrithya Vikas, from Sur Singar, Mumbai * 1985: Nritya Choodamani, from Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. * 1991:

Padma Sri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferr ...

from the Government of India. * 1997: Awarded the Grande Medaille (Medal) by the City of Paris. * 2001: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, New Delhi * 2004:

from the Government of India * 2004:

Chevalier of Arts and Letters The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and letters, Arts and Letters) is an Order (distinction), order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Ministry of Culture (France), Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the w ...

award from the Government of France * 2012: Naatya Padmam from Brahma Gana Sabha, Chennai * 2014: Natya Utsav Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai * 2015: Natya Kala Acharya award from The Music Academy, Chennai * 2018: Nritya Peroli award from Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai

External links

Alarmel Valli's Official Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valli, Alarmel Bharatanatyam exponents Odissi exponents Indian dance teachers 1956 births Living people University of Madras alumni Artists from Chennai Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Performers of Indian classical dance Indian classical choreographers Indian female classical dancers Indian women choreographers Indian choreographers Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Dancers from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian dancers Women educators from Tamil Nadu Teachers of Indian classical dance 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women artists Women artists from Tamil Nadu Educators from Tamil Nadu Stella Maris College, Chennai alumni 20th-century women educators