Pallavi Krishnan is a leading exponent of the dance form, Mohiniyattam. She received the Sangeet Natak Academi award for 2022 in Mohiniyattam from president Murmu. [1]
Krishnan hails from Durgapur, Bengal but after her post-graduate studies in Kerala, she settled in Thrissur. She did her B.Sc. in Bioscience from Burdwan University of West Bengal. But she had no interest in academics and wanted to study dance. So she did a second under-graduate degree, B.Music from Shantiniketan in Kathakali, Manipuri and Rabindra Sangeeth, Viswa Bharathi University. She was spotted by guru Kalamandalam Shankaranarayanan, who felt that her abhinaya suits Mohiniyattam and initiated her into Mohiniyattam dance form. [2] In 1992, she moved to Thrissur and did her post-graduation at Kerala Kalamandiram under Bharati Shivaji and Kalamandalam Sugandhi. [3]
In 1994, she started Lasya Academy of Mohiniyattam at Thrissur. In 2000, she started doing choreographies in Mohiniyattam. Her Ritu-Raga is a fusion of Bengali and Kerala forms, Rabindra Sangeeth with Kerala's Sopanam music. [3] In February 2009, she conducted a workshop for Bangladeshi dancers at Dhaka. [4] In September 2013, she performed at Kochi in an event organised by the Bank Employee's cultural wing ‘BEAME’ in association with Ernakulam Karayogam. [5]
In 2018, she performed at Bharat Bhavan at Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvananthapuram. [6] In December 2018, she also performed at the Soorya dance and music fete, also at Thiruvananthapuram. [7]
Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai, more popularly known as Guru Gopinath was a well known Indian actor-cum-dancer. He is well regarded as the greatest preserver of the dance tradition. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship, and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.
Sunanda Nair is an Indian dancer trained in Mohiniattam. She did her master's degree in this dance form from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya affiliated to the University of Mumbai. She has completed her PhD from University of Mumbai for her thesis "Intrinsic Lyrical Feminism in Mohiniattam". She was born in Mumbai, India.
Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair was a Kathakali dancer from Kerala in India.
Kalamandalam Kallyanikutty Amma was an epoch-making Mohiniyattam danseuse from Kerala in southern India. A native of Thirunavaya in Malappuram district of the state, she was instrumental in resurrecting Mohiniyattam from a dismal, near-extinct state into a mainstream Indian classical dance, rendering it formal structure and ornamentation.
Vimala Menon, known popularly as Kalamandalam Vimala Menon is an Indian dance teacher and Mohiniyattam exponent from Kerala. She is the founder and Director of Kerala Natya Academy in Thiruvananthapuram.
Deepti Omchery Bhalla is a professor in Carnatic Music at the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi, and a Mohiniyattam dancer.
Kalamandalam Kshemavathy is a Mohiniyattam dancer from Thrissur, Kerala. She is an alumna of the Kerala Kalamandalam. She joined the institute when she was ten. After completion of the course, she undertook advanced training in Bharata Natyam under Muthuswamy Pillai and Chitra Visweswaran, and in Kuchipudi under Vempati Chinna Satyam, but chose to remain within the Mohiniyattam tradition.
Sajitha Madathil is an Indian film and theatre actor. Her performance in Joy Mathew's feature film Shutter (2012) won her the Kerala State film award for second best actress. She is the head of the department of Acting at the K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala. She had been the Deputy Secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi New Delhi(Academy of Music and Dance, India), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She appeared in the feature films Shutter in 2012, in Adimadhyantham in 2011, and in Shalini Usha Nair's feature film Akam in 2011.
Kalamandalam V. Satyabhama was an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for her performances and scholarship in Mohiniyattam. She was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, for her contributions to the art and culture, by the Government of India.
Bharati Shivaji is an Indian classical dancer of Mohiniyattom, choreographer and author, known for her contributions to the art form by way of performance, research and propagation. She is the founder of Center for Mohiniyattam, a dance academy promoting Mohiniyattom and the co-author of two books, Art of Mohiniyattom and Mohiniyattom. She is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2004, for her contributions to Indian classical dance.
Sangit Bhavana, of Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, started functioning as a part of Kala Bhavana in 1919 and as a separate institution in 1933. It was established by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Kala Vijayan is an Indian classical dance performer, choreographer, author and actor. She is the daughter of the legendary Kathakali artist Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Mohiniyattam exponent Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma. Kala Vijayan is trained in Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam and Kathakali, however she is best known for her contributions to Mohiniyattam. She is the recipient of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award for Mohiniyattam (1998) and the Kerala State Award for Mohiniyattam (2019). She is the Principal Director and senior Guru at Kerala Kalalayam, a fine arts institute established by her parents at Thripunithura in 1952.
Kalamandalam Rajan was a Kathakali exponent from Kerala, India. He has been honored with several noted awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2009, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Gurupooja award 2006 and awards from Kerala Kalamandalam.
Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri is a Kathakali musician from Kerala, India. He received several noted awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala State Kathakali Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award.
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, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and Kalaimamani.
Kalamandalam Sugandhi is a Mohiniyattam dancer, choreographer and dance teacher from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship, Kerala Konkani Sahitya Academy Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award.
V. K. Hymavathy popularly known as Kalamandalam Hymavathy is a Mohiniyattam dancer and dance teacher from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Gurupooja Award and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.
R.L.V. Ramakrishnan is an Indian Mohiniyattam dancer and film actor from Kerala. He was a Kalaprathibha from the MG University in 2001. Ramakrishnan is the brother of Kalabhavan Mani and he served as the head teacher of Kalagriha started by Kalabhavan Mani in Chalakudy. He has also worked as guest lecturer at Kaladi Sanskrit University. In 2022, Ramakrishnan won the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in Mohiniyattam. He also acted in five films, including Bamboo Boys (2002), Canvas (2010), Theeta Rappai (2018) and 1921: Puzha Muthal Puzha Vare (2022). He also acted in several devotional Hindu album songs.
Mangat Mulaykkal Thankamani, known by her married name Thankamani Gopinath was a prominent Indian Mohiniyattam dancer and dance teacher from Kerala. The wife and co-dancer of Guru Gopinath, she was the first student of Mohiniyattam from Kalamandalam. Thankamani is considered as one of the important icons in the history of women's progress in Kerala, who learned Mohiniyattam at a time when learning and performing dance was considered unethical for girls in Kerala. She has also starred and sung a song in the 1941 Malayalam movie Prahlada.
Madhulita Mohapatra is a dancer from India. She is one of the exponents of Indian classical dance Odissi. She is also a Sambalpuri folk dancer for more than 20 years. She has been performing and teaching Odissi and Sambalpuri folk dance since the last 15 years. She started an Odissi school at Bengaluru in June 2008. She is also a performer, choreographer and trainer.