Alarmel Valli Biography 
Alarmel Valli is an Indian classical dancer and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style of classical dance form of Bharatnatyam. She is also known as a choreographer who adds her own distinctive style to this art form. She is the founder of 'Dipashikha', an institution which teaches Bharatnatyam and it was established in the year 1984. Alarmel Valli was the second youngest dancer to received Padma Shri after Vyjayanthimala and she received it in the year 1991. Her other honours received include - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2004. In 1979, she received Kalaimamani from Tamilnadu Government. Alarmel Valli is married to Bhaskar Ghose, an IAS officer.
She was born in Chennai on September 14, 1956. 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. Later she studied music forms like Padams and Javalis under musician T. Muktha, of the Veena Dhanammal style. Her arangettam was done at the age of 9 at Indian Institute of Fine Arts, Chennai. When she was 16, she was conferred with Natya Kala Bhushan award.
She also learned Odissi under Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and his disciple Guru Ramani Ranjan Jena. In addition to it, she also studied classical Tamil literature anthologies - Sangam poetry. A film on Alarmel Valli was made for the Omnibus series, on BBC One, by Michael Macintyre and she has been featured in several documentaries also. In 2011, Lasya Kavya, a documentary about Valli, won the National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 23, 2014
