Gopika Varma is a Kerala born Mohiniyattam dancer and dance teacher who is settled in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She received several awards including

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

and Kalaimamani.

Biography

Born and raised in Thiruvananthapuram, Gopika Varma migrated to Chennai from Kerala in 1995. She started learning dance at the age of three, from her mother. At the age of 10, Gopika started learning Mohiniyattam from Girija and Chandrika Kurup and later she received specialized training from Kalyanikutty Amma and her daughter, Sreedevi Rajan. Gopika learned the ''Abhinaya'' (acting) part of Mohiniyattam from

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

exponent Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair. She also studied

Bharathanatyam 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 ...

under Vazhiyur Ramayyar Pillai, for 18 years. Although her guru was Kalyanikutty Amma, Gopika Varma follows her own style in Mohiniyattam. She has also performed Mohiniyattam in ''Sopana'' style under Kavalam Narayana Panicker. She runs a Mohiniyattam Dance School in Adyar, Chennai under the name "Dasyam".

Personal life

Gopika Varma is married into the Travancore royal family, to Poorurttathi Thirunal Marthanda Varma, descendent of Travancore king

Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 40 ...

. Other than running a dance school, she runs a shelter home for the physically challenged and a textile unit for their work. She lives in her house ''Ramalayam'' in Adyar, Chennai.

Notable dance performances

Gopika choreographed and performed dance named ''Ayonija Panchakanyaka'', about five unborn virgins in Indian mythology. She has performed the poem ''Radhayevide'' written by Sugathakumari and composed by

M. Jayachandran Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...

, in Mohiniyattam form.

Yamini Reddy Introduction Yamini Reddy is a Kuchipudi dancer, teacher, choreographer, and the Director of Natya Tarangini, a school dedicated to the teaching of Kuchipudi. She has performed widely in India and abroad. Early life Born to Kuchipudi exponent ...

, Kritika Subramaniam, Gopika Varma and Suhasini together choreographed and performed the dance named ''Antaram''. ''Chayamukhi'' is another dance performance she did. The dance performance on Indian mythological characters

Kunti Kunti ( sa, कुन्ती, ), named at birth as Pritha ( sa, पृथा, ), is one of the prominent characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She is best known as the mother of the Pandavas and Karna, the main protagonists of the epi ...

and

Ahalya In Hinduism, Ahalyā ( sa, अहल्या, IAST: Ahalyā) also known as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity ...

, done as part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, was also notable. She is now doing a dance composition based on Shankaracharya's life.

Awards and honours

2018 *

2008 * Kalaimamani 2004 She is the first dancer to receive Kalaimamani for Mohiniyattam. * Nritya Choodamani Award 2010 from Krishna Gana Sabha * Abhinaya Kala Ratna Excellence Award * Sathya Abhinaya Sundaram 2007 * Kaladarpanam Award 2003 * Yuva Kala Bharathi award by Bharat Kalachar 2001. She is the first Mohiniyattam dancer to receive this award. * Outstanding Performance Award by the House of Commons – London 2003 * Satya Abinaya Sundaram * Natya Kala Vipanchee * Rajakeeya Puraskaram

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopika, Varma Indian female classical dancers Performers of Indian classical dance Mohiniyattam exponents Living people Dancers from Kerala Women artists from Kerala 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award