 |
'Sadinchaney'
was the first of the pancharatna kritis of Saint Tyagaraja to enter the
Bharatanatyam repertoire courtesy Kamala and her guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah
Pillai. |
|
'Kuttrala
Kuravanji' was the first dance drama to be produced by Rukmini Devi in
1944. It was composed by Thirukkuda Rajappa Kavirayar with music composed
by Sri Veenai Krishnamachariar. |
|
"Sailusa"
is the term used to refer to an actor/dancer in the Sukla Yajur Veda. |
|
E
Krishna Iyer was inspired to learn Bharatanatyam by watching his friend
Rangavadivelu who danced in female costumes in a dance company. |
|
Manipuri
guru Bipin Singh was the first to teach his students to play the 'pung'
so vital to the Manipuri dance. |
|
The
Jhaveri sisters who first played the drum on stage, created a stir among
traditionalists, for women in Manipur were not allowed to even touch the
instrument. |
|
Jayammal,
Balasaraswati's mother, who sang for Bala's performances was the daughter
of the legendary 'Veena' Dhanammal. |
|
Meenakshisundaram
Pillai actually came to Chennai when he was over 65 to teach Rukmini Devi.
Till then, students had to go to Pandanallur and stay with him. |
|
Barbara
Vijayakumar is the first woman and first foreigner to be taught chutti
- Kathakali makeup - in 1974 by Kalamandalam Govinda Warrior at a time
when there were strict rules of admittance to
Kerala
Kalamandalam. |
|
There
are about 160 dance compositions in the Seraikella Chhau dance tradition
and Rajkumar Suddhendra alone has danced all of them. |
|
The
earliest form of classical dance in India to have been presented outside
India, that too in a very professional manner,
was the Seraikella Chhau of Bihar.In 1938, the Royal Chhau Dancers of Seraikella
went on a tour of Europe. |
|
The
3 main schools of nattuvangam that have come down to us through the years
were evolved in the villages of Pandanallur, Vazhuvoor and Thanjavur town
in Tamilnadu. |
|
Before
the beginning of the 20th century, no male dancer danced as a male. He
donned the sthreevesha to impersonate a female. The 1st male dancer
to give Bharatanatyam performance as a male was Ram Gopal. |
|
Dr.Nataraj
Ramakrishna, erudite scholar and the greatest guru responsible for reviving
the ancient temple dance forms of Andhra Natyam and Perrini was born in
Bali Islands in 1933. |
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