Nationality Indian Spouse Bhaskar Ghose (m. 1998) Role Dancer | Name Alarmel Valli Website Official website | |
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Movies When the Gods Dance: Bharatanatyam: Parts 17 & 18 | ||
Role of arts in resurrecting humanity alarmel valli at tedxsairam
Alarmel Valli (born 14 September 1956) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam and also her own distinctive style.
Contents
- Role of arts in resurrecting humanity alarmel valli at tedxsairam
- Alarmel valli
- Early life
- Career
- In popular culture
- Personal life
- Awards and honours
- References
She is the founder of Dipashikha, a centre for fine arts in Chennai, established in 1984, where she also teaches Bharatnatyam.
In 1991, Alarmel Valli was the second youngest dancer to be conferred the President’s award of Padmasri after Vyjayanthimala. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001 by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, followed by Padma Bhushan by Govt. of India in 2004.
Alarmel valli
Early life
Alarmel Valli was born and brought up in Chennai, where she did her schooling from The Sacred Heart Matriculation School, at Church Park, Chennai and later studied at the Stella Maris College, Chennai. She trained in the Pandanallur style of Bharat Natyam under Pandanallur Chokkalingam Pillai and his son Subbaraya Pillai. She studied music under T. Muktha, of the Veena Dhanammal style of music for many years.
Career
She made her stage debut at an early age of 9 1/2 under the auspices of Indian Institute of Fine Arts, Madras and was conferred the Natya Kala Bhushan award and won her laurels on the International scene when she was barely 16 at the International Dance Festival of Theatre organised by the prestigious Sarah Bernhardt Théâtre de la Ville, in Paris, and has been performing ever since, both in India and aboard.
She also learned Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and his disciple Guru Ramani Ranjan Jena, and studied classical Tamil literature anthologies of the 2000 years old, Sangam poetry. Over the years she has gradually evolved her own distinct style that extended her tradition within the broad framework of classical Bharatanatyam.
In popular culture
A film on Alarmel Valli was made for the Omnibus series, on BBC One, by producer Michael Macintyre. Alarmel Valli has also been featured in dance documentaries by noted Indian producers like the late G. Aravindan and Prakash Jha, by the BBC (in The Spirit of Asia Series), the Netherlands Broadcasting Company, Arte (France) and Japanese National Television.
The Films Division of India commissioned a film on her for the National Archives of India. Titled ‘Pravahi’, it has been directed by eminent film-maker Arun Khopkar, with cinematography by Madhu Ambat. In 2011, Lasya Kavya, a documentary about Alarmel Valli, won the National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film.
Personal life
Alarmel Valli is married to Bhaskar Ghose, an IAS officer.