Alarmel Valli
Acclaimed not only for the exquisite
perfection of her dance, Alarmel Valli, the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur
tradition in Bharatanatyam, is also hailed as a creative artist, who brings to
every one of her items a depth, intensity and naturalness, which makes her not
only a "paragon among dancers" but "the essence of Dance itself."
Trained by renowned gurus, Shri Chokkalingam Pillai and his son
Shri Subbaraya Pillai, she has enriched and extended the frontiers of her dance
tradition. Her style is unique and distinctly her own and has been described as
- "An effortless synchronisation of apparent contradictions: linearity and
lyricism, symmetry and sinuosity, precision and poetry".
Her study of Padams & Javalis under the eminent musician Smt. T. Muktha,
of the renowned Dhanammal's School of music, has helped Valli explore the ideal
of dance, as visual music- to express the subtle distinction between the literal
translation of the lyric into body language and the mature, evolved
transmutation of music into movement. A critic writes - "An Alarmel Valli or
Suzanne Farrel can literally embody infinite subtleties of the emotions,
intricacies of design, glimpses of the Divine. They can, momentarily at least,
wrench order out of chaos".
Recipient of numerous awards, she was conferred the State award of
Kalaimamani in 1979 and was made the State Artist of Tamilnadu between 1981
& 84. In December 1985 she was awarded the prestigious title of Nrithya
Choodamani and in January 1991, she was the youngest dancer to be conferred the
President's award of "Padmasri". She founded 'Dipashikha' a Centre for
Performing Arts, in 1984. Valli has won her laurels several times over in the
major festivals of India and in almost all the cultural capitals of the world,
and has received standing ovations in leading theatres of North and South
America, Europe, U.S.S.R., the Middle East, Israel, Syria, Egypt, Malaysia,
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Tasmania and Japan.
A few of the highlights of Valli's career on the international scene would
include her performances at the famous Bolshoi Theatre - Moscow, at the Theatre
De La Ville Festivals in Paris, in 1973, 1997 and 1998, The Cervantino Festival
- Mexico, the Vienna International Dance Festival, the Harbourfront Festival
-Toronto, the New York International Festival of Arts, the Avignon Festival, the
Basel Dance Festival, the Helsinki Biennale, the Min-On Association Festival of
Japan, the Festival at the Hague Palace for the birthday celebrations of Queen
Beatrix of the Netherlands, the Bergen International Festival of Norway in 1997,
the Festival for The Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Pina Bausch's Wuppertal
Dance Theatre in 1998 and the Cultural Festival at the Royal Albert Hall for the
joint celebrations of the 50th year of Independence of India, Pakistan and
Srilanka.
In 1999 Valli performed at the Solo Donna Festival of the Venice Biennale and
at the San Antonio International Festival in the United States. Early in 2000,
she toured the United States, Canada and Spain for performances. In August 2000,
she represented India at the Niigata Asian Cultural Festival in Japan. During
October and November 2000, she was invited to the millennium festivals in Berlin
and Bologne, Reggio Emilia and Ferrara.
