Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of

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 ...

dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, the academy was founded in January 1936 by Rukmini Devi Arundale and her husband

George Arundale George Sydney Arundale (1 December 1878 in Surrey, England — 12 August 1945 in Adyar, India) was a Theosophist, Freemason, president of the Theosophical Society Adyar and a bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church. He was the husband of t ...

. Under Arundale's guidance, the institution achieved national and international recognition for its unique style and perfectionism. In 1962, Kalakshetra moved to a new campus in Besant Nagar, Chennai, occupying of land. In January 1994, an Act of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

recognised the Kalakshetra Foundation as an "

Institute of National Importance Institute of National Importance (INI) is a status that may be conferred on a premier public higher education institution in India by an act of Parliament of India, an institution which "serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled per ...

." The current Chairman of Kalakshetra is S. Ramadorai and the current director is Revathi Ramachandran.

History

Secretary Clinton Visits a Music Classroom

Kalakshetra, later known as the Kalakshetra Foundation, was established by Rukmini Devi Arundale, along with her husband,

, a well-known

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

, in Adyar, Chennai, in 1936. She invited not only the best students but also noted teachers, musicians and artists to be a part of this institution. In 1944, the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

granted its affiliation for conducting diploma courses in Music, Dance and Painting & Crafts. Year-long celebrations, including lectures, seminars and festivals marked her 100th birth anniversary, on 29 February 2004, at Kalakshetra and elsewhere in many parts of the world. Also on 29 February, a photo exhibition on her life opened at the Lalit Kala Gallery in New Delhi, and President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam released a photo-biography, written and compiled by

Sunil Kothari Sunil Kothari (20 December 1933 – 27 December 2020) was a noted Indian dance historian, scholar and critic. He was also former Uday Shankar Professor at Ravindra Bharti University, Kolkata. Career He completed M. A. in 1964 and PhD in 197 ...

, with a foreword by former president

Ramaswamy Venkataraman Ramaswamy Venkataraman (, 4 December 191027 January 2009) was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist and politician who served as a Union Minister and as the eighth president of India. Venkataraman was born in Rajamadam village in Ta ...

. In 2016, marking its 80th year, the Kalakshetra Foundation held a 'Remembering Rukmini Devi’ festival of music and dance.

Kalakshetra style

Having studied the Pandanallur style for three years, in 1936 Rukmini Devi Arundale started working on developing her own, Kalakshetra, style of

. She introduced group performances and staged various Bharatanatyam-based ballets. The Kalakshetra style is noted for its angular, straight, ballet-like kinesthetics, and its avoidance of

Recaka {{Unreferenced, date=July 2012 Recakas (Rechakas) are elements in some classical Indian dance styles that describe the minor variations in the main moves. Padma Subrahmanyam compares the Recakas with Gamakas of Carnatic music Carnatic mu ...

s and of the uninhibited throw (Ksepa) of the limbs. According to Sankara Menon (1907–2007), who was her associate from Kalakshetra's beginnings, Rukmini Devi raised Bharatanatyam to a puritan art form, divorced from its recently controversial past by "removing objectionable elements" (mostly, the ''

Sringara Sringara ( sa, शृङ्गार, ) is one of the nine rasas, usually translated as erotic love, romantic love, or as attraction or beauty. ''Rasa'' means "flavour", and the theory of rasa is the primary concept behind classical Indian arts inc ...

'', certain emotional elements evocative of the erotic, such as hip, neck, lip and chest movements) from the Pandanallur style, which was publicly criticized by Indian dancer Tanjore Balasaraswati (1918–1984) and other representatives of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

's traditional Isai Velalar culture. Love outside parameters considered "chaste" was not to be portrayed. Balasaraswati said that "the effort to purify Bharatanatyam through the introduction of novel ideas is like putting a gloss on burnished gold or painting the lotus". Lawyer and classical artist

E. Krishna Iyer E. Krishna Iyer (9 August 1897 – January 1968) was an Indian lawyer, freedom-fighter, classical artist and activist. He was the follower of traditional Isaivellalar practitioners of Sadir, also known as Bharatanatyam. Early life Krishna I ...

(1897–1968) said about Rukmini Devi, "There is no need to say that before she entered the field, the art was dead and gone or that it saw a renaissance only when she started to dance or that she created anything new that was not there before".

Institutes

* Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts * Rukmini Devi Museum * Koothambalam (Kalakshetra theatre) * Craft Education and Research Centre (including the weaving department, the Kalamkari natural dye printing and the painting unit)

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include Radha Burnier, Amala Akkineni,

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (3 April 1903 – 29 October 1988) was an Indian social reformer and freedom activist. She was most remembered for her contribution to the Indian independence movement; for being the driving force behind the renaissanc ...

Sanjukta Panigrahi Sanjukta Panigrahi (24 August 1944 – 24 June 1997) was a dancer from India, who was the foremost exponent of Indian classical dance Odissi. Sanjukta was the first Odia woman to embrace this ancient classical dance at an early age and ensure ...

, C.V. Chandrasekhar, Dhananjayans,

Adyar K. Lakshman Adyar K. Lakshman (16 December 1933 – 19 August 2014) was a noted Indian Bharatnatyam dancer, choreographer and guru. Early life Born on 16 December 1933, Adyar K. Lakshman hails from Kuppam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. His fath ...

Jayashree Narayanan Jayashree is an Indian name. People with the name include: *M. Jayashree, Indian actress * B. Jayashree, Indian actress, director and singer * Jayashree (actress), Indian actress *Jayashree Banerjee (born 1938), a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

Leela Samson Leela Samson (born 6 May 1951) is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi f ...

, Satyavati Motiram Sirsat,

Jaya Thyagarajan Jaya Thyagarajan (born at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India in 1956) is a traditional Indian artist noted for her Tanjore paintings. Jaya was born in Madras State where these paintings originated. ...

, Devoleena Bhattacharjee, and

Ananda Shankar Jayant Ananda Shankar Jayant is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, scholar and bureaucrat, known for her proficiency in the classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. She is the first woman officer in the Indian Railway Traffic Serv ...

References

Bibliography

* Fredericks, Leo: ''Poet in Kalakshetra''. Madras 1977 * Kalakshetra Foundation (Hrsg.): Kalakshetra Brochure * Nachiappan, C.: ''Rukmini Devi, Bharata Natya''. Kalakshetra Publications, Chennai 2003 * Nachiappan, C.: ''Rukmini Devi, Dance Drama''. Kalakshetra Publications, Chennai 2003 * Ramani, Shakuntala: ''Sari, the Kalakshetra tradition''. Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai 2002 * Sarada, S.: ''Kalakshetra-Rukmini Devi, reminiscences''. Kala Mandir Trust, Madras 1985

External links

Kalakshetra official website
{{authority control Culture of Chennai Cultural centres in Chennai Theosophy Dance schools in India Arts organizations established in 1936 Organisations based in Tamil Nadu Carnatic music Ministry of Culture (India) Art schools in India Music schools in India Academic institutions formerly affiliated with the University of Madras 1936 establishments in India Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam styles Bharatanatyam dance schools