K. N. Dandayudhapani Pillai

K. Natesa Dandayudhapani Pillai was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, considered by many as one of the leading exponents of the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. Born on 14 July 1921 in Karaikal, in the Indian union territory of Puducherry to A. K. Natesa Pillai, a known musician, he started training initially in music under his father, but later turned to Bharatanatyam and learned under his grand father, who was a teacher of the dance form. Subsequently, he joined Kalakshetra of Rukmini Devi Arundale as a teacher where he taught for a number of years. He was known to have authored several compositions for Bharatanatyam and trained many students; Sri Vidya, J. Jayalalithaa, Hema Rajagopalan, Suganthi Sadayane, Nayana Shenoy, Adyar K. Lakshman, Uma Muralikrishna, Vijayalakshmi Shetty-Ahuja, Jayalakshmi Alva and Geeta Chandran are some of the notable ones among them. He was the dance choreographer of a number of films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi such as Raja Guruvu, Man-Mauji, Chhaya, Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke, Sri Kalahastiswara Mahatyam and Bhai-Bhai. He also founded Sri Rama Nataka Niketan, a dance academy in Chennai in 1967. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 1971, for his contributions to Dance. His wife, Chandra Dandayudhapani Pillai, is a known Bharatanatyam exponent and teacher and his younger brother, Dakshinamoorthy Pillai who died in 2005, was also a noted Bharatanatyam teacher.