Classical Indian Dancers: Bharatanatyam

• Notes about prominent classical Indian dancers and related information

Bharatanatyam/Bharatanatyam

• Yamini Krishnamurthy is a dancer also related to Kuchipudi.
• Rukmini Devi Arundale:
  • A Google Doodle in 2017 featured her.
  • She was the first dancer to be nominated in Rajya Sabha.
• Leela Samson is a Bharatanatyam dancer.
• Sonal Man Singh (Odisha):
  • In 1992, she was the youngest recipient of Padma Bhushan.
  • In 2003, she was the youngest recipient of Padma Vibhushan.
• Mrinalini Sarabhai is a Bharatanatyam dancer.
• Vyjayanthimala:
  • She was the youngest recipient of Padma Shri.
  • She was the first dancer to get the Sangeet Akademi Award.
  • A Google Doodle featured her in 2018.
  • She won the French 'Palme-d'Or award in 1977.
  • She received the Padma Bhushan in 1992.
  • She received the Nishagandhi Award (Kerala) in 2013.
• Citizen honors in Indian government, sorted in decreasing order of prestige:
  • Bharat Ratna
  • Padma Vibhushan
  • Padma Bhushan
  • Padma Shri

Other Bharatanatyam Artists

• Other notable Bharatanatyam artists:
  • Padma Subramaniam
  • S. K. Saroj
  • Malavika Sarkar
  • Meenakshi Srinivasan
  • Geetha Chandran
  • R. Muthukannammal, Sudha Chandran
  • Radha Sridhar
  • C.V. Chandrashekhar (PB-2011)
  • Hema Malini (PS 2000)
  • V. Doroswami
  • Meenakshi Chittaranjan
  • Urmila Satyanarayan (SNA 2023)
  • Jayalakshmi Easwar
  • Kumari Kamala
  • B. Herambanathan
  • Raja Shridhar
  • Shobhna Chandra Kumar
• T. Bala Saraswathi received the Padma Bhushan in 1957 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1977.
• Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai taught at the Pandanallur School in Tamil Nadu.
• Nartaki Nataraja:
  • The first transgender person to receive the Padma Shri in 2019.
• R. Muthukannammal received the Padma Shri in 2022 and was an Antim Devadasi.
• Alarmel Velli is the second youngest dancer to receive the Padma Shri.
• Tanjore Quartet (Char Nattuvanar):
  • Ponnayya, Badivelu, Sivanandam, and Chinnaiah

Related Information

• Manjula Ramaswami received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (SNA 2022).
• Mandakranta Rai received the BKY Award in 2022.
• Apurva Jayaraman received the BKY Award in 2023.
• Padma Award - 2024
• Kuchipudi is a classical Indian dance form.